Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has said that Wayne Rooney is one of the best players that he has ever played with.

Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's England goalscoring record with a penalty in the 6-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win over San Marino on Saturday, and is aiming to score an unprecedented 50th goal for his country against Switzerland on Tuesday.

Mata, who has played with Rooney for United since January 2014, heaped praise upon the 29-year-old and said that by the time the striker has finished his England career he will have set a far higher goals record.

"Special congrats to my teammate Wayne Rooney for equalling Sir Bobby Charlton as England's leading all-time goalscorer," Mata wrote on The Juan Mata Blog.

"Wayne is one of the best players I have ever had as a teammate, and I am sure he is going to set a record very difficult to beat in the future."

The claim is no small praise from Mata, with the midfielder having played alongside a host of star players during previous spells at club level with Valencia and Chelsea and for the Spain national team which won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships.