Guardiola is Ferguson of his generation, says Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has described Pep Guardiola as the Sir Alex Ferguson of his generation, as the Manchester City manager prepares to leave the club after 10 years in charge.

Speaking on the BBC's Wayne Rooney Show, the former Manchester United and England captain said: "I can say Ferguson is the greatest of all time but Pep, in his generation, is certainly the best by a long way."

How do the records compare?

Guardiola has won 17 major trophies at City, including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and five EFL Cups. In total, he has won 20 trophies during his decade at the Etihad.

Ferguson holds the record for the most Premier League titles by some distance, with 13, and won 49 trophies across his career, 38 of them at Old Trafford.

Rooney acknowledged the scale of Ferguson's achievement. "I've been looking at people saying how loyal he's been for 10 years, which is incredible. But Alex Ferguson has done 26 years," he said. "When you actually think of that amount of time, 26 years at one football club, it's absolutely astonishing."

Did they face different challenges?

Rooney highlighted the contrasting situations the two managers inherited. "When Sir Alex took over United, it was a completely different situation," he said. "He almost had to build the club up from the ground to get them to become a successful force in English football again, whereas I think Pep didn't necessarily have to do that."

He added: "But what he has done in terms of complete and utter dominance... it's nothing to sniff at."

How has Guardiola changed English football?

Rooney said Guardiola's influence extends far beyond the Etihad. "He has been a breath of fresh air," he said. "Pep has been incredible and he has completely changed the face of English football."

He continued: "He is the one that has come in and actually changed the whole pyramid, even Sunday league football as well. He's influenced every aspect of English football. People playing out from the back, kids' teams playing out from the back."