Wayne Rooney officially overtook Sir Bobby Charlton to become Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer in the with an injury-time equaliser against Stoke on Saturday.

His goal saw him beat Charlton’s record of 249 goals for the Red Devils, over a year after breaking his record at international level with England.

However, there is an argument that Rooney did not in fact level Charlton’s record with the history books revealing the 79-year-old actually managed 251 goals for the club.

In the last of his 758 recognised appearances for United in April 1973, Charlton had 249 goals, although he went on to play in the Anglo-Italian Cup a week later against Verona, scoring two goals.

The game was an official game organised between the Football Association, the Italian FA and Uefa, but the goals, and the appearance, is not recognised by United as it was not considered a ‘first-class game competition’.

United insist Charlton’s last-ever game was the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, and not the game against Verona.

Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Lee Grant – 7 out of 10 Made a couple of smart stops but never did anything more than expected of him. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Glen Johnson – 6 out of 10 Was allowed to take advantage of United’s narrow midfield but kept busy defensively. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Ryan Shawcross – 7 out of 10 Did well to combat the combined muscle of Ibrahimovic and Fellaini in the aerial battles. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Bruno Martins Indi – 6 out of 10 Was strong defensively, even if he was caught out of position at times. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Erik Pieters – 7 out of 10 Marauded forward well and got his reward when his cross was turned in by Mata. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Charlie Adam – 6 out of 10 Made his presence in the centre of midfield felt as he harried United’s stars. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Glenn Whelan – 6 out of 10 Watched Pogba well throughout and made sure his impact on the game was limited to the deeper positions. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Marko Arnautovic – 6 out of 10 Cynical yellow card for pulling down Herrera on the break and was not too influential in an attacking sense. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Xherdan Shaqiri – 5 out of 10 Had a decent effort from a cut inside shot, but should have fed Crouch better when Stoke had a two on two in the first half. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Joe Allen – 6 out of 10 Neat touches and effortless passing as his glided around the field but nothing much more meaningful than that. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Peter Crouch – 5 out of 10 Was a nuisance for Jones and Smalling and always a danger in the air. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings David De Gea – 6 out of 10 Nothing he could do about the goal and had little to do other than that. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Antonio Valencia – 6 out of 10 Was called the best right-back in the world by his manager but other than his usual overlaps, did little to reinforce that view. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Phil Jones – 6 out of 10 Looking more and more like the player Sir Alex Ferguson once predicted he would be and won some crucial tackles and interceptions. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Chris Smalling – 6 out of 10 Preferred to Rojo in defence and took the armband but had his work cut out with Crouch. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Daley Blind – 5 out of 10 Had plenty of space to get forward but lacked the pace to turn it into any sort of danger for United. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Ander Herrera – 7 out of 10 His usual high-octane performance and fast becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Paul Pogba – 5 out of 10 Saw his effectiveness reduced as his was played in a deeper role and saw his snap-volley punched away well by Grant. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Marouane Fellaini – 6 out of 10 Had plenty of chances in the air and brought a couple of decent saves from Grant. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Juan Mata – 6 out of 10 Mata did his usual stuff but got the unfortunate final touch to divert the ball past De Gea and then missed a golden opportunity to equalise at the other end, skying his shot over from two yards. Man Utd via Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6 out of 10 Missed a golden chance to equalise when he launched his shot into row Z in the first half, but created a great effort for Ibrahimovic before that. Getty Images Stoke vs Manchester United player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 5 out of 10 Had a number of chances to score but twice tried to pass when a shot looked the better option. Man Utd via Getty Images

Despite this, the yellow cards picked up in the fixture contributed towards suspensions for players, leading many to claim the goals should also stand.

Therefore Charlton actually scored 251 goals for United, and not the 249 officially recognised, leaving it up for debate whether Rooney is actually the club’s all-time record goalscorer or not.