Wayne Rooney says Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is “one of the best things to happen to English football”.
Manchester United’s record goalscorer, 37, is now manager of Major League Soccer side DC United.
The former England captain will take charge of the MLS All-Stars in their game against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on Thursday.
“Manchester City have raised everything,” Rooney said.
“Unfortunately it is their time of dominance.”
Speaking about Guardiola, who led City to a historic treble last season and has won 12 major trophies in seven years at the Etihad Stadium, Rooney added: “Guardiola has been one of the best things to happen to English football.
“It’s not just the league but the national team too, because of some of the coaching he’s given the young English players who have gone on to become senior players and spread that around.”
After successful spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola joined City in 2016 and has led the team to five Premier League titles, including the past three.
Arteta was part of Guardiola’s coaching team before he returned to Arsenal as manager in 2019.
The initial success of winning the FA Cup in his first season was followed for Arteta by a couple of difficult campaigns before last term’s transformation, during which Arsenal led the Premier League for much of the season before being overhauled by City.
Rooney is an admirer of Arteta’s work.
“He’s done incredibly well to go in at Arsenal, win the FA Cup and really push City last season. As a young coach, it’s great to see,” added Rooney,
“Everyone coaches in their own way, but that’s where you want to get to as a young coach. I’m going through the steps to try and do it, whereas Arteta has already been through that. I’m sure working with Guardiola helped him.”
