JERMAIN DEFOE has told Wayne Rooney: Life doesn’t end at 30 – just look at me.
England skipper Roo, who turns 31 later this month, was dropped for his country’s World Cup qualifier in Slovenia on Tuesday, having also been benched by Manchester United for their last three games.
But Defoe believes his former Three Lions team-mate can continue to thrive at the top level for many more years – like he is doing at Sunderland.
The Black Cats striker, 34, said: “Age is an irrelevance, 100 per cent.
“Ryan Giggs showed that. Teddy Sheringham played until he was 40. Les Ferdinand was about 38.
“I just think, if you do it right, if you look after yourself like I always have, then you shouldn’t have a problem.
“Obviously there comes a point in a player’s career where you can’t get to the same level that you’ve been at before.
“When you set such high standards, it’s hard to be the same.
“But people can't forget what Wayne’s done and the amount of goals he's scored.
“At one stage he was the wonder boy playing for his country and now people are getting frustrated and the phones are burning.
“He’s one of the best talents England has ever produced.
“The only thing I'd say to him is just keep positive and be proud of what he's achieved in the game.
“He's 30 and some of the things he's achieved in the game are unbelievable.
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“He's a goalscorer and when he gets the chances he can finish - and he can create goals as well.” While Rooney’s England career looks to be on the wane, Defoe is STILL determined to revive his.
Despite earning the last of his 55 Three Lions caps in November 2013, he feels Sam Allardyce might have picked him had he not lost his job - and hopes Gareth Southgate also could.
Defoe added: “Roy Hodgson - no chance. He would never have put me in the squad.
“Maybe Sam would have got me in. Sam had said, ‘If you score goals, you’ve got a chance of getting in the squad’. I said, ‘OK, cool'.
“Even better he got the job, I said ‘Gaffer, if you get the job you better put me in!’ And he just said, ‘If you start the season good, we’ll see what happens’.”
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