Wayne Rooney Podcast: Luke Littler is at number one

Wayne Rooney and Luke Littler both know what it’s like to be in the spotlight at a young age.

The 16-year-old Rooney shocked the world by scoring a spectacular late winner for Everton against Arsenal in 2002.

At the age of 18, he joined Manchester United for £27 million and at the age of 21, he became the Premier League champion.

Littler, the darts world number one, was also 16 years old when he produced a stellar performance by reaching the final of the 2024 World Championship.

He won both the Premier League and the World Championships at the age of 17 and successfully defended his world crown at the age of 18.

At the age of 19, he has 12 major titles to his name.

But when did Rooney and Littler realise that they could become the best at such a young age?

“I’ve always believed and I think that’s where a lot of the comparisons happen [between us]. I think you have to have a certain level of ego to perform at your best,” Rooney told Littler on the latest episode of BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.

“When I came into the Everton first team, I’ve said this many times, I felt like I was the best player at 16.”

Littler realised this when he was defeating players more than twice his age.

“I’ve been playing tournament-wise for many years; probably my first proper tournament was at nine, maybe 10,” he said. “And like Wayne said, when you’ve got a little bit of an ego, the more you do it, obviously people aren’t going to like it, but as long as you feel comfortable doing it, that’s all that matters.

When I started playing in pub leagues, I started playing against adults. They weren’t happy losing to a 10 or 11-year-old kid.

“When I was beating them, I was also going to the darts academy at St Anne’s, and I thought the young players there were better than these old guys. I was winning pretty much all the time.”

The spotlight became brighter on Littler when he won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2024, 22 years after Rooney.

“The press can be mind-boggling – you’re not used to it,” Rooney said.

“And coming as I imagine where Luke is from, from the same area, you’re not used to it.

“You’re not used to the media; you’re not used to talking in front of a camera and it can be intimidating, but the one thing that always remains the same is your safe space.

“My game was on a football pitch and I can imagine him playing there, where he is comfortable; no one can reach him. He is safe – they can write whatever they want.”

Littler has come under increasing criticism over the past year or so, most recently following a mid-match altercation with Gian van Veen during the Premier League quarter-final defeat at 9pm in Manchester.

He said, “When I first came on the scene, we would always see comments and everything, usually family, but now we get used to it and we stop it.”

“I think there’s always negativity in every sport, not just darts and football. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s just the way it is.

“Obviously the fans who pay for tickets, they pay to see us in person… I think obviously they matter the most because obviously they want to see us play good darts.

“But with media – and for the first time since the first time, social media is being brought into [the World Championship win in 2025] – it was hard not to hit back at people. But now it’s just ‘just leave it’. We’ve got used to it.”