The two careers of Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney have always been interesting to watch as each flourished at different times, with each man’s highlights reel containing spectacular goals, phenomenal personal achievements and more than a few controversial moments along the way.

Viewed as a timeline alongside each other, however, how does each man compare to the other at different ages? As was remarked across the world this past weekend, Jamie Vardy scoring a hat-trick at The Etihad on the same weekend that Rooney, just a year older at 34 years of age, was playing for Derby in a 4-0 home defeat by Blackburn shows that the latter section of each man’s biography read very differently.

Over the course of their careers, when was Rooney the best and at which moments was Vardy on top? Let’s take a look at the seven eras Vardy and Rooney have seen their careers evolve within.

The Youth Club (2002-2004)