They were highly successful as a duo at United and both blossomed as footballers under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Ronaldo will be remembered as arguably the greatest player to play for United, Rooney is the club\u2019s record goalscorer, having scored 253 goals for the Red Devils.<\/p>\n Rooney and Ronaldo were teammates when United won the Champions League for a third time in 2008<\/a>, beating Chelsea in Moscow.<\/p>\n Ronaldo spent one more season at United before leaving for Real Madrid; however, he returned in 2021, only to last a year.<\/p>\n It is no secret that Rooney and Ronaldo had their differences over the years.<\/p>\n At the European Championship in 2004, Rooney was sent off in the second half of the quarter-final tie when a clash with Ricardo Carvalho led to him being sent off after being aggravated by a winking Ronaldo.<\/p>\n In 2022, Rooney criticised Ronaldo\u2019s behaviour during his second spell at Old Trafford<\/a>. Ronaldo responded to his remarks in an infamous interview with Piers Morgan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ronaldo said: \u201cI don\u2019t know why he criticises me so badly\u2026 probably because he finished his career and I\u2019m still playing at a high level. I\u2019m not going to say that I\u2019m better looking than him. Which is true.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Ronaldo got it completely wrong. Rooney has since told former United defender Rio Ferdinand that he doesn\u2019t hate Ronaldo.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think I hate him,\u201d Rooney told Rio Ferdinand Presents.<\/p>\n \u201cI love him! I think he\u2019s an absolute genius; what he\u2019s doing is incredible. I don\u2019t think people realise how close he and I were. Just because I\u2019ve said Messi is better than Ronaldo, people think I don\u2019t like Cristiano.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, over the last couple of years, I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Do you know what?\u2019, he\u2019s probably gonna be the one when you look back, Cristiano, because he keeps going. I absolutely love Messi, I love watching him play, and that was the only reason because I think Messi had a little bit more in terms of how he played, and taking players on.\u201d<\/p>\n Rooney added: \u201cCristiano has got something in his brain which I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s got. He\u2019s got this mindset and mentality which is way beyond anything I\u2019ve seen in football.\u201d<\/p>\n Rooney now considers Ronaldo a \u2018genius\u2019 for continuing his career into his 40s, playing for Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.<\/p>\n Rooney opens up on Sir Alex Ferguson bust-up<\/p>\n![\"Cristiano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2218666711-1024x682.jpg\")
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty ImagesWayne Rooney admires Cristiano Ronaldo, despite reports to the contrary<\/p>\n