Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Wayne Rooney's "outstanding" goalscoring tally for Manchester United and is unsure whether anyone will go on to break his record.

The 31-year-old scored his 250th Red Devils goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Stoke City to move one clear of previous record holder Sir Bobby Charlton.

Ferguson, who led United to 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League trophies, believes that Rooney's record may well stand the test of time.

"Well, it lasted for 44 years, I think, and when Wayne Rooney joined the club I could never imagine anybody could beat Sir Bobby's record," Ferguson told MUTV.

"So his achievement is outstanding. It's amazing. He's 200-odd games short of Bobby's playing record and that makes it even more amazing.

"I don't think [anyone can overtake Wayne]. I couldn't say never - never say never - but if you look at modern-day football, Manchester United are one of the few clubs who can keep players for over 10 years.

"It is more difficult than ever... in the modern day, you see it happening less and less that players stay for that length of time."

Ferguson made Rooney the most expensive teenager of all time when he signed the striker from Everton for around £30m in 2004.