"I was proud to hold it for as long as I did - for it to be beaten by somebody like Jimmy Anderson is great," McGrath, whose haul of 563 came from 124 matches, told BBC Radio 5 live.
Anderson, who made his test debut in 2003, now trails only spin trio Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708) and Anil Kumble (619).
"I have a lot of respect for Jimmy. He's been an incredible bowler for a long time," McGrath said.
"To have played well over 140 tests and just keep running in, day in, day out, and remain at the top of his game, yeah, I'm very proud Jimmy's got there."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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