Ravel Morrison was better than Pogba and nutmegged Vidic three times in a minute - Rooney reveals reason for former Manchester United wonderkid's downfall

However, he has indicated just what made the player who 'nutmegged Nemanja Vidic three times in the space of a minute' fall away from the path he was on that had him destined for greatness.

Morrison, now 27 and playing for Middlesbrough on loan from Sheffield United, was remarkably highly-rated during his time at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson allegedly thought he was the best player he had ever seen at his age, and he turned professional on his 17th birthday in 2010.

However, he ended up playing only three times for United - never in the Premier League - and dropped down to the Championship with West Ham in 2012.

Spells at Birmingham, QPR and Cardiff followed before Morrison left English football for Lazio, but he only made eight appearances for the Italians and also spent time on loan with QPR (again) before heading out to Mexico to represent Atlas.

A short spell with Ostersund in Sweden came next, before Morrison returned to England with Sheffield United on a free transfer last summer.

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In a professional career which has lasted nearly a decade, Morrison has remarkably never made more than 30 appearances for a single club, and it is widely accepted that his prodigious talent has been wasted.

But just why has that been the case?

Rooney, a former teammate of Morrison's, believes he knows the reason - and it proves Morrison could not compare to another ex-Red Devil, Gary Neville.

"I remember watching Ravel Morrison thinking he had everything required for a player in his position," wrote Rooney in The Sunday Times. "He was brilliant. He was confident. He nutmegged Nemanja Vidic three times in the space of a minute in one training game.

"But he struggled with lifestyle and his environment which was sad for him — because I saw Paul Pogba come through, Jesse Lingard, all these players and Ravel was better than any of them by a country mile.

"He's proof that you can't escape the fact there are guidelines every player has to obey in professional football. Some players live right on the edge of them but stick just inside and still succeed. Then you think how far you can go by being ultra-professional.

"Gary Neville, for instance. Gary's not a great football player but he worked in every minute of every training session and made the most of everything he had. He had a fantastic career through hard work. Full respect.

"Sir Alex Ferguson used to say the hardest thing in life is to work hard every day. Forget all your ability, strip everything back: if you can work hard every day, in whatever job you do you'll be successful."

Wayne Rooney has lauded the brilliance of Ravel Morrison, claiming the former Manchester United starlet was 'better than Paul Pogba'.