"What the two of them did is incredible" - Wayne Rooney reiterates stance on Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo debate
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has reiterated his stance on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate. The Englishman once again picked Messi over his former teammate but claimed that he understood why someone would pick Ronaldo.
The former DC United manager also talked about his time with Ronaldo at Old Trafford. He also drew similarities between the Portuguese and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who spent two years at Manchester United as well.
"Ronaldo was a character. He laughed and joked a lot, and did some similar things to Ibrahimovic, like looking in the mirror and saying he was beautiful... I was completely the opposite,” Rooney told the BBC (via @maisfutebol).
The former England striker also opened up on his relationship with Ronaldo, saying:
"We had a very good relationship, we were the opposite of each other. Sometimes I told him he was ugly, messing with him, and that made him angry. We were always playing tricks on the coach [Alex Ferguson] and sometimes I would catch him and give him a ride to training."
Finally, on the Messi vs Ronaldo debate, Rooney added:
"I think people now exaggerate a little when I say that Messi is better, because in my opinion, he is. But I completely understand those who say that Cristiano is better. I've always said that, what the two of them did is incredible.”
Ronaldo and Rooney played 205 matches together at Old Trafford, combining for 25 goals in the process.
Lionel Messi wants to play a bit more than Cristiano Ronaldo: Wayne Rooney
Earlier this year in February, Wayne Rooney opened up on the primary difference between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also expanded on why someone would think that the Argentine was the better player.
“So for instance, Cristiano Ronaldo, his mindset is goals. He doesn’t care about anything else, it’s goals, that’s all he wants. Whereas you look at Messi, he wants to play a bit more.
“I saw something that Gery Neville said recently, that Alex Ferguson always used to have a go at me for coming too deep, but it was because I wanted to play football. And I could have been a bit more selfish and stayed up top, and maybe scored a few more goals, but I wanted to play. I wanted to enjoy the game.”
Rooney came up against Messi thrice during his playing career, once in the semi-final of the 2007/08 season, which Manchester United won on aggregate. The other two games were the final of the 2008/09 and 2010/11 Champions League seasons, both of which Barcelona won. The Englishman scored in the latter but the Red Devils lost 3-1.