Barcelona defender Gerard Pique believes former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney is capable of scoring 50 goals in a season.
Pique, 23, played in the United team when the Portuguese-man-of-score Cristiano Ronaldo smashed in 42 goals during the 2007-08 season in England.
And he watched from the back in awe at Barcelona as Argie genius Messi netted an amazing 43 times in 2009-10.
He told the Daily Star Sunday: ''I have played with two players who have had history-making seasons.
''I was with Cristiano Ronaldo when he had his 42-goal season and, of course, with Lionel Messi when he had his 43-goal season.
''But I see no reason why it can't be Wayne Rooney who is finally the first player in the modern era to have a 50-goal season. If anybody was to do it, I would actually say it would be more likely to be Wayne than anybody else.
''When Ronaldo had his season he still had Carlos Tevez and Rooney scoring goals and when Messi had his season at the Nou Camp he had Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry also scoring goals.
''But Wayne is the main man at United - the sole, focal point of United's attack.
"And if United go on good runs in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup, I think there is every chance he could score 50 goals this season, particularly with Nani, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes supplying so many chances.''
