Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has insisted Ji-Sung Park was 'just as important' to their success under Sir Alex Ferguson as Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United won three Premier League titles during Ronaldo's time at Old Trafford as well as winning the Champions League in 2008.
They won the domestic crown three years in a row between 2007 and 2009 before Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for a world-record £80million fee.
However, despite the Portuguese star being the headline name, Rooney insisted that players such as Park and Darren Fletcher were just as important to their success because of their willingness to work for the team.
In his weekly column for the Sunday Times, Rooney said: "It's crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately say, 'Yeah, he was a brilliant player for Manchester United', but if you said 'Park Ji-Sung' they may not know who he was.
"Yet all of us who played with Park know he was almost as important to our success. That's because of what Park gave to the collective and I want to talk about teams. They - not stars - are the most important thing in sport.
"Players like me, Ronaldo, Tevez got the headlines but they were as important as us if not more, because of what they did for the team.
"We knew that inside the dressing room - and also that because they were so good at sacrificing themselves, their actual individual quality was often overlooked."
Rooney recalled Ferguson's specific instructions to Park as an example of his dogged commitment to the cause against AC Milan in 2010..
"I remember Fergie's team talk before playing AC Milan," Rooney said. "He literally said to Park: 'Your job today is not about touching the ball, it's not about making passes, your job is Pirlo. That's all: Pirlo'."
"I think Pirlo barely had 40 passes in that game, and 95 per cent were backwards because Park was so unbelievable at carrying out his orders."
SMHellas
5
I think,Park was the most important player, he sacrificed and worked and ran and never gave up. That kind of player earns your team the right to play the game on its own terms
ShyDevil
5
The real Man Utd supporters all know how important Park Was to Utd during that run. Instrumental player every season. His capacity to run all day long was so important
Satan/messiah
2
At least he never kept crying like that weak SONG FROM SPURS 😂... embarrassing human..
Weareunited
0
True
Vezonic22
2
I love JS Park and is still an ardent supporter of the South Korean. Although he wasn't a regular goal scorer while at MUFC, he mostly brought ☺ to us who cheered him.
seceimpry
2
nice
jezabdnpyz
3
3️⃣ LUNGS PARK WILL FOREVER BE THAT IMPORTANT PLAYER IN THE SQUAD THAT WON EVERYTHING DURING THAT GOLDEN ERA OF MANCHESTER UNITED HISTORY.
F∆NZ™
0
I agree completely. Even today there are heroes with no capes inside the field. To give some quick examples: Casemiro, Milner, De Jong, and many others with similar qualities, are players that sometimes go unnoticed. However their roles in the matches are crucial.
Unsung Hero
Keerzerg
4
I agree completely. Even today there are heroes with no capes inside the field. To give some quick examples: Casemiro, Milner, De Jong, and many others with similar qualities, are players that sometimes go unnoticed. However their roles in the matches are crucial.