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Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney remains one of the world's greatest footballers, according to Ander Herrera. Rooney, 30, has seen his place in the Manchester United side questioned during a mixed start to the season, but manager Louis van Gaal gave his captain a vote of confidence. The United skipper responded by heading in United's goal in a 1-0 win against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday to end the club's goal drought following three successive goalless draws and take him alongside Denis Law as the second highest scorer in their history, with 237. While the England captain, who has only scored two goals in his last 16 Premier League games, was not named on the 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, his United teammate Herrera insists he belongs there. "He is one of the best players in the world, one of the stars and he is not selfish," the Spaniard said. "He is our leader, our captain and we are happy when he scores, but when he doesn't, he fights for the team and helps a lot, also." Asked if he really believed Rooney is still one of the world's best footballers, Herrera replied: "Yes, of course. His trajectory is unbelievable. The way he fights and trains and the way he gives to the rest of the players his opinion, everything. Maybe the people outside see only in the pitch, but he is also very, very important outside for everyone. "Wayne is one of the most important players for us. I can say only what I see into the club, and what I see is that he gives everything, every day for us and for each other and we see every day the same -- when he scores, fantastic, but when he doesn't do that, he does a lot of things for the club, for the team." Herrera has ignored some of the criticism of Rooney, explaining: "I try to don't read them too much, to create my own opinion and my opinion is clear -- Wayne Rooney is one of the best." The former Athletic Bilbao player was only used as a late substitute against CSKA Moscow but United fans, seemingly in defiance of manager Van Gaal's decision to keep him on the bench, chorused Herrera's name in the second half. He said: "They show me every day, their support. I am very thankful for that. They give me the strength to keep fighting, to keep playing as good as possible and giving everything for this club."
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