I knocked out Wayne Rooney and know who the Man United legend should fight at Wembley

Former Manchester United player Phil Bardsley believes Wayne Rooney should take on YouTuber Jake Paul at Wembley Stadium after the influencer's bout against Mike Tyson in Texas this weekend.

Influencer boxing has become a phenomenon in recent years and at the forefront of that is Paul. The YouTuber-turned-fighter has taken on UFC stars, Tommy Fury and will now come up against the former undisputed world heavyweight champion Tyson at the AT&T Stadium.

Rooney is no stranger to lacing up the gloves, either, and infamously was caught up in a bizarre incident in 2015 where Bardsley knocked him out in a kitchen! It led the striker to perform his iconic knockout celebration at Old Trafford after scoring against Tottenham Hotspur and the story has been retold by Rooney since.

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Reflecting on what happened that night, Bardsley told OLBG: "We had no idea that the boxing clip would go viral because we didn't even know it was being filmed. It then got released and sold and it was just one of those things, we'd probably had one too many drinks and then got the gloves out.

"People sometimes forget that we are just normal lads from normal backgrounds - and that's just what lads do sometimes. We had a swing and chinned each other a few times, we both like our boxing and I got the better of him on that occasion."

While Rooney's love for boxing has not - yet - seen him transcend into the world of influencer fighting, Bardsley reckons his friend and current Plymouth Argyle manager should challenge Paul at Wembley Stadium after his fight with Tyson. "Wayne Rooney vs Jake Paul would definitely sell out Wembley, you can imagine the audience that would bring in, both in person and online, as well," the ex-Sunderland and Stockport County defender explained.

"The younger generation would be mad on all the build-up and the clips on their phones, the influencer boxing scene is huge and they're filling their pockets now. Would Wayne beat Jake Paul? It's tricky because Jake Paul has done it for a long time now and Wayne hasn't done it at that level in front of a huge audience.

"He played football in front of millions before Jake Paul was on the scene but, fair play to him, now he's doing that on the big stage and getting paid fortunes." While Bardsley respects Paul's 'hustle', he's not necessarily a fan of him pitting his wits against Tyson.

"I'm not sure about him fighting Mike Tyson though, a 20-odd something lad fighting a 58-year-old, it's bonkers," he concluded. "You can understand it financially, but I couldn't fight a 60-year-old man for whatever amount of money. But that's just me."