Wayne Rooney turned 30 on Saturday and yet, despite some evidence of slowing up in the last couple of seasons, neither United’s nor City’s manager believes this will be his last Manchester derby.

“Wayne is my captain and I like him because he can read a game,” Louis van Gaal said. “When you can do that you find more space to play your football and you don’t need to rely on speed quite so much. Strikers need speed because the amount of space you get to work in is so small, but Wayne can play midfield as well and bring his experience to bear.

“Generally speaking when you just play as a striker your freshness as a player is not so easy to maintain. You also get a lot of kicks in that position, and that can shorten your career, but Wayne is very strong.”

Manuel Pellegrini would not be surprised to see Rooney carry on for another four or five years. “Why not?” the City manager said. “Thirty is not really an age barrier any more for players who look after themselves and know how to recover.

“Players can play until the age of 35 or 36 now without any problem. Maybe not three times a week for a whole season any more, but you do not have to think about retiring at 30. But Rooney could play in 10 more derbies, maybe that is one of his challenges.”

Pellegrini puts Rooney in the same bracket as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who both played in the Premier League well into their 30s, the latter briefly for City. It might be significant that both are midfielders rather than strikers, though as Van Gaal said, Rooney, is both strong and adaptable.

“I admire Rooney, the same as with Gerrard and Lampard,” the City manager said. “You have to be impressed by players who demonstrate what they can do over a long period. It is one thing to be good for one or two years, much more difficult to be good for 12 years. To stay at the top for so long and show in almost every game why they are at that level is not easy.”