Wayne Rooney says teammate is among top three defenders in world football

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has opined that teammate Chris Smalling is among the top three defenders in world football.

The defender has made massive improvement under Louis van Gaal and has impressively led the United defense this season.

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Smalling has been hailed for leading the United defense which has the joint-best record in the English Premier League and Rooney thinks he deserves all the accolades.

“He has been incredible and for me he is right up there in world football in terms of centre-halves,” Rooney told United's official website.

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“He is in the top three centre-halves in the world – I think he is that good.

“He is a great player and he is developing to become more of a leader of the back four. It is great to see for both United and England, and hopefully that can continue for him and he can help us to be successful.”