Rooney offers Ronaldo olive branch

FT Desk

• 17 Nov 2022 08:37 GMT
• 3 min read

Wayne Rooney has attempted to diffuse any fall-out between himself and former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he hopes the Portuguese wins the World Cup.

Rooney criticised Ronaldo before the current Man Utd man publicly criticised the club, his former teammate, and many others in an explosive interview with Pier Morgan.

Ronaldo had been dropped by Erik ten Hag earlier in the campaign, and twice left the ground early, in pre-season against Rayo Vallecano and then in the Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur last month.

READ: From Man City bid to Messi: Ronaldo-Piers Morgan interview IN FULL

What did Rooney say?

"I've seen Roy Keane defending him. Roy wouldn't accept that. Roy wouldn't accept that at all," Rooney said. "For Cristiano, just get your head down and work and be ready to play when the manager needs you. If he does that, he will be an asset. If he doesn't, it will become an unwanted distraction."

Ronaldo has since gone for the latter, and looks to have played his last game for the club after slating the owners, managers past and present not called Sir Alex Ferguson, and some of his former teammates.

"I don't know why he criticised me so badly," Ronaldo told Morgan. "Probably [jealously]. Probably - because he finished his career in his 30s. I'm still playing at a high level; I'm not going to say that I'm looking better than him, which is true."

READ: Ronaldo on Rangnick: 'I'd never even heard of him!'

Ronaldo and Rooney were often frenemies during their career, with Ronaldo encouraging referee Horacio Elizondo to send Rooney off when Portugal beat England in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup after the then-Man Utd striker had stamped on Ricardo Carvalho.

They buried the hatched and won the Premier League together the next season, and Rooney now says he'd be happy to see Ronaldo go one better than the semi-final finish Portugal achieved 16 years ago.

"I'm sure he's used to dealing with expectations," he told the Times of India. "The idea of leaving a legacy is surely going through his mind. I would love to see either [Lionel] Messi or Ronaldo win the World Cup. It would be a fitting end to their incredible careers."