15 Years Later, Cristiano Ronaldo Leads Attack As Wayne Rooney Again Sacrifices His Place in Dream Team Pick

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney have gone from strike partners to foes. At the heart of the beef is Rooney’s criticism of Ronaldo during his infamous second Manchester United stint. The Al Nassr skipper even said his ex-United pal was jealous of his chiseled Greek god looks! However, while the feud boils up, Rooney has proved that his respect for Ronaldo’s stellar gameplay has not faded.

In a candid conversation with fellow Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, Rooney snubbed himself for Ronaldo while rating United’s all-time best players. Does that ring a bell? Wazza has even famously sacrificed his chances to let Ronaldo have his day at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney believes Cristiano Ronaldo is the better Manchester United forward!

Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand partnered again for TnT Sports for a fun activity of picking a five-a-side dream team of Manchester United legends. The duo unanimously picked Edwin van der Sar as the five-player team’s goalkeeper. Rooney made Ferdinand delighted by choosing the latter as the dream team’s only defender.

Thereafter, the Red Devils duo chose Paul Scholes to galvanize the dream team’s midfield. When it came to picking a forward, Rooney chose Cristiano Ronaldo without any hesitation and paired him with Ryan Giggs instead of picking himself. Ferdinand even gave Wazza the option for that, but he denied it. “Ronaldo… probably is the best goalscorer,” said Rooney after putting him in the striker position.

15 years have passed since Rooney last paired with CR7 for United. But his respect for the latter’s goal-scoring prowess has not diminished one bit. Well, neither has Ronaldo’s goal-scoring attributes by becoming the top goal-scorer in the world, last year, in his twilight years. Currently, he leads the Saudi League scoring charts with 36 goals in 35 appearances. It is at Manchester United the Portuguese maestro started this cold-blooded goal-scoring riot. But would it have been possible without Wazza’s selflessness?

The sacrifice Rooney made for Ronaldo in Manchester United

Wayne Rooney disclosed in a 2022 interview that he occasionally relinquished his offensive position to focus on defending, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to focus on his attacking responsibilities. As Rooney puts it, actions like chasing a full-back would take away a lot of energy needed to score goals. According to the Englishman, his Portuguese pal was the better attacker back in the day. So he ensured that scoring goals was Ronaldo’s sole duty in Old Trafford.

READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo Throws Weight Behind Saudi Arabia’s Unopposed Bid for 2034 FIFA World Cup Hosting

Then Wazza was asked about the chance he missed by letting Ronaldo have his day. The England international said he couldn’t care less, as he made such sacrifices for the team. Considering all this, it is quite unfortunate that the selfless Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are now at loggerheads. What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

READ MORE: Manchester United Star Who Foiled Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup Ambitions Hails Him As the Best Player Ever Faced