Manchester United had a golden run under Sir Alex Ferguson. The legendary manager established the team as one of the standard-bearers of Europe, raising some of the best talent in the world. However, while Sir Alex was excellent at raising stars, it seems like his ability to hold on to them was a different ball game. The Red Devils suffered a massive setback in 2008, as the side had to sell Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, with the two forcing their way out of the club. Their sudden departure left a huge void in the team, impacting some of the top names in the squad, including Wayne Rooney.
The Englishman opened up on the rough phase in his career following Cristiano’s departure in his recent appearance on ‘The Overlap’. Rooney, while addressing CR7’s move to Real Madrid, stated that the move made him insecure as he started pondering about his future at the club. “You could see what was happening. Um, and then I started thinking about the team and thinking what’s gonna happen with the team. What’s gonna happen with the manager? I knew he didn’t have that long left,” Rooney stated.
The ex-United star then added he started getting insecure, thinking more and more about the future. Rooney claimed, “The club offered me a new five-year deal but just sold Tevez. We just sold Ronaldo. And I said this to the manager. This is no disrespect to Phil Jones or Chris Smalling. They were obviously not going to replace Ronaldo and Tevez. I just wanted the answers.”
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The Englishman’s frustrations proved correct as Manchester United underwent a rough transition period after selling their top players. Despite that, Wayne Rooney struck with the club through the rough times before eventually leaving the club to join Everton in 2017. However, while his run with the club might have ended on a sour note, his partnership with Cristiano and Carlos Tevez was one for the ages!
Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo set the stage on fire at Manchester United
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While Cristiano Ronaldo was always destined to be one of the greatest of all time, the player learned from some of the best throughout his career. His early move to Manchester United in 2003 saw him link up with English legend Wayne Rooney, who had taken the entire Europe by storm with his sensational performances. The two young stars together became one of the deadliest pairs in the competition, opening defenses at will with their sheer quality.
The duo was unstoppable in the 2008 season alongside Carlos Tevez as they helped United dominate Europe. Together, the trio made a combined 140 appearances across all competitions, bagging 79 goals and 29 assists. Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Tevez’s impact was considerable, with the trio scoring 71.8% of United’s goals that season.
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However, that was their last season playing together as Cristiano following the season left for Real Madrid while Tevez joined arch-rivals Manchester City in the same year, marking the end of the historic partnership.
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