'His comments are fair' - Rooney responds to Michael Owen claims he was better than Wayne at 17

Wayne Rooney (right) has given a diplomatic response to claims from Michael Owen he was the better teenaged footballer (Nick Potts/PA)

Wayne Rooney has responded diplomatically to Michael Owen’s claim he was the better of the two players at the age of 17.

Owen burst on to the scene as a precocious teenager with Liverpool in the late 1990s before Rooney did likewise at Everton a few years later.