Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has aimed another dig towards Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese star prepares to get his World Cup underway.
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Tensions have been rising between the ex-teammates, with Ronaldo launching an attack towards the DC United manager during his interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo labelled Rooney as a “rat” and implied that he was after Instagram followers for sharing his opinion on the Portugal international.
Rooney gave a response to the 37-year-old’s comments as he broke his silence on the interview. He labelled Ronaldo’s comments “strange” before then giving his opinion that Lionel Messi was the better of the two footballing superstars.
He said: “Everyone has different views on Messi and Ronaldo but I have said many times that I think Messi is the best. I have watched lots of videos of Diego Maradona, who was a similar player, but Messi is better.
“He has everything — the way he controls games, his dribbling, his assists — whereas Ronaldo is more of a goalscorer. It would be a great story for football if either Messi or Ronaldo won the World Cup.
“I have heard some of the Argentine players saying that they want to win it for Messi. That’s crazy — and might only increase the pressure on them.”
Ahead of the World Cup kicking off with Qatar’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Ecuador on Sunday, Rooney was once again asked about Ronaldo’s interview in an appearance on Indian TV network JioCinema.
He was asked who out of Messi, Ronaldo and Harry Kane would get into his all-time team and Rooney elected to leave out the Portuguese icon. “I’d have to start Messi, bench Kane and leave Ronaldo out,” the 37-year-old replied.
While Ronaldo is unlikely to play for United again – the club already exploring the prospect of cancelling the rest of his deal – he will still hope to have an impact on what is likely to be the final World Cup of his career.
Portugal begin their Group H campaign against Ghana on Thursday before games with Uruguay and South Korea.
Meanwhile Messi is aiming to round off his international career with World Cup glory. Argentina begin their latest attempt to claim it against Saudi Arabia before taking on Mexico and Poland.
