Look, the reality is that people will pay more for a match when Wayne Rooney is playing than when I am playing. I will never expect to be paid the same as Wayne Rooney, because I am not Wayne Rooney. And there's no getting around that.
[Wayne Rooney] has to be viewed as a great England striker if he breaks Sir Bobby Charlton's record. Scoring goals at international level is much more difficult than it was a few years back because even the lesser teams are well organised and don't concede too many goals these days.
Honestly, I am a fan of the game like anyone else, so my favorite players' list is pretty big. But if we are to narrow it down to England, I have a lot of respect for Wayne Rooney and the things he has achieved for club and country.
The treatment of Wayne Rooney told me something about the way England fans view the national team.
OK, Wayne Rooney is always the center of attention, and I always have to answer questions about him. But Wayne is Wayne, and he will always contribute in a game.
There's been a big buzz about the Charlatans in the last couple of years. I've heard the word Charlatans more in the last few years than I'd heard it for the previous 20 years. People would interview me for years and never even mention the Charlatans.
His temperament is always there to be questioned because he plays on the edge. That is just the way he plays. It is a cliche but if you took that edge away from Wayne he wouldn't be the same player and I would rather have the Wayne Rooney we have now.
I've been fortunate enough to travel to Edinburgh a few times over the last few years, and I just loved the city. I find it one of the more beautiful cities in Europe.
I'm popular in the United States and I'm popular in England. England is just more concentrated. The people are closer together. Venues are closer together. Many albums of mine have been popular in England, but, no hit singles. All the hit singles I had were before I went to England. So, I'm not necessarily more popular in England, I'm just popular in England, and more so for my performances than hit records. But, I enjoy doing concert halls all over America, England, Scotland and Australia.
I have played against the big England players - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole. I never like to point out somebody because they are all great players with experience.
I didn't want my script to get too out of control like that. So I actually made it a point not to do stuff like that, to pretty - to keep it more sparse than it's been in the last few years, or the last decade.
Everyone went crazy over Wayne Rooney, but I get more excited by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Riches, power and fame last only for a few years! Why do people cling so desperately to these transitory things? Why can't people who have more than they need for themselves give that surplus to their fellow citizens? Why should some people have such a hard time during their few years on this earth?
In the last few years I've been listening to jazz more than anything else. I listen to a lot of world music and experimental here and there.
During my time playing for England we had Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were world-class players playing for Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, all legends of the game.
Well, it might have been if I'd had success earlier in life, but having success that much later meant I was far more grounded when it came. The last few years of my life have just been surreal and after a lifetime of disappointment and heartache and rejection, I still don't believe this is all actually happening. I'm extremely grateful for my success - I just never expect it to last and my motto, if I have one, is just put your head down and do the job.