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Rooney goes past Charlton with stunning free kick

It was a moment of drama and pride for Wayne Rooney but one tinged with disappointment for Bobby Charlton.

Rooney overhauled Charlton on Saturday to become Manchester United's record scorer, coming off the bench to net his landmark 250th goal in stoppage time at Stoke to clinch a 1-1 draw in the Premier League.

"(Charlton) came and congratulated me in the dressing room so I know he's pleased in some way," Rooney said.

"I'm a team player but records are important. When you finish your career you can look back on it and it's something to tell your kids."

The 31-year-old Rooney, no longer assured of a starting spot in his 13th season at United, moved level with Charlton on January 7 and needed two more weeks to take the record outright.

Image: Getty

Rooney has scored 250 goals in 546 games, Charlton scored 249 in 758 matches.

"I have become used to the honour of being the club's all-time top goal scorer," Charlton said.

"We have had some incredible strikers here at Old Trafford and they have scored a lot of goals, but it has been fairly obvious for a while now that Wayne Rooney was going to be the one likeliest to break my record.

"And now that day has come, I would be lying to say that I'm not disappointed to have lost the record. However, I can honestly say that I'm delighted for Wayne. He deserves his place in the history books."

Having already broken Charlton's 49-goal England scoring record in 2015, Rooney has now completed possibly the final major feat of his illustrious - if turbulent - career.

"He is a true great for club and country, and it is fitting that he is now the highest goal scorer for both United and England," Charlton said.

"It has been great to watch him every week since his arrival at Old Trafford in 2004.

"He set the tone with a wonderful hat trick on his debut and he has thrilled us all in the years since, going on to enjoy a hugely successful career."

There have been many memorable moments in the famous red jersey since moving to United from Everton as an 18-year-old prodigy in 2004, starting with his debut when he scored a hat-trick in a Champions League match against Fenerbahce at Old Trafford.

He scored 17 goals in his first season, the highlight being a thunderous volley from 30 metres against Newcastle in April 2005 that will go down as one of the best goals in his career.

Ironically, Rooney has rarely been a prolific scorer. He managed 16 league goals in 2005-06, 14 in 2006-07, 12 in 2007-08 and 12 in 2008-09.

His best scoring season for United was in 2009-10, when he netted 33 goals in all competitions (26 in the league) and he was named English soccer's player of the year by his fellow professionals.