Business of Sport: Wayne Rooney versus David Beckham. If it's a question of who is the greater footballer, at 18 Rooney has surpassed anything "Goldenballs" has ever done (except perhaps for that goal from the halfway line).
But if it's a question of who will reap more material rewards from the game of football it is probable that style will win out over substance.
Welcome to the bling-bling world of soccer: a place where sarongs beat skill; magazine covers mean more than match winners; and haircuts get more column inches than overheads.
For all his talent, for all the comparisons to Pele, and for all the potential he can bring to the game over the next 15 years, the hard fact is that Wayne Rooney, teenage superstar, does not have the superstar looks to match.
In the modern football "Hollywood", you go further with a photogenic face. Last week Forbes Magazine released their list of the world's top sports earners and there sitting pretty at number eight was Beckham himself. Being a soccer player and getting into the Forbes Sports Rich List is no mean feat especially when you look at the those he keeps company with:
1 Tiger Woods (golf)$80.3m
2 Michael Schumacher (F1)$80m
3 Peyton Manning (US football)$42m
4 Michael Jordan (basketball)$35m
5 Shaquille O'Neal (basketball)$31.9m
6 Kevin Garnett (basketball)$29.7m
7 Andre Agassi (tennis)$28.2m
8 David Beckham (football)$28m
9 Alex Rodriguez (baseball)$26.2m
10 Kobe Bryant (basketball)$26.1m
The US, of course, dominates, with only two Europeans in the top 10. Remarkably, Michael Jordan is still there, having earned $35 million, and this five years after retiring from play.
The likes of Jordan and Tiger Woods have built their earning power from commercial sponsorship, advertising and tie-ins and it is a lesson Beckham has learned to his advantage.
But, what stands out most from the sports rich list is that only one has the pin-up looks: Beckham.
Football is where Beckham-sex appeal sells; the game has become the Hollywood of Europe. If you've got good looks and a modicum of talent you can go far. David Beckham is the Brad Pitt, Posh Spice the Jennifer Anniston.
If Thierry Henry were an actor he'd probably be Johnny Depp, aloof and mysterious with a certain va-va-voom to boot.
So who in Hollywood would Wayne Rooney be? The cruel ones have of course been saying Shrek and it's an even crueller coincidence that Shrek 2 is being released next week.
But, in Hollywood, Shrek can gross $500 million (and Shrek 2 is at $380 million and counting), while Wayne Rooney can still exploit the commercial opportunities that will be falling at his feet as we speak.
Paul Gascoigne reckons Rooney can be the first £100-million player but whether even Roman Abramovich would shell out such money is unclear. Everton manager David Moyes has admitted that anyone coming in with a £50-million offer would have to be considered and with debts of £30 million, the club might just see young Rooney as the saviour.
If there is a big-money transfer on its way post-Euro 2004, the most likely destination for Rooney would be Chelsea or Manchester United, and while he would bring much to the pitch he might bring less to the coffers.
Beckham's much-hyped move to Real Madrid resulted in over a million sales of his number 23 jersey. But could Rooney reach such figures?
It was noteworthy that the Sun had a picture not of him but of his girlfriend, Colleen McLoughlin, splashed across the front page the day before the Portugal clash. Readers were told the "stunning" McLoughlin was flying the England flag.
Meanwhile, David Beckham, straddles the front cover of Vanity Fair, topless, with the blurb cooing, "The hottest, coolest athlete on earth. And he's coming to a town near you."
Beckham can hit a dead ball, yes, but apart from that? Run of the mill.
Meanwhile, Rooney has single-handedly lit up the European Championships but will probably never earn close to what Beckham earns, will never grace the cover of Vanity Fair and won't feature in a Forbes Sports Rich List.
It's the bling-bling world of football that counts now.
