Manchester United great Wayne Rooney has insisted that he has "the greatest respect" for Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his praise for Lionel Messi and the recent interview by the Portuguese star with Piers Morgan.
In November, Ronaldo sat down with Morgan for a bombshell interview on TalkTV. During this conversation, the 37-year-old took aim at the likes of Rooney and Gary Neville for their criticism of him as a player during a troublesome campaign at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo later departed Manchester with United upset with the Portugal captain's comments about the club and Erik ten Hag. This decision made Ronaldo the only free agent at the World Cup.
ALSO READ: KSI reveals Rooney fight offer
During the Qatar tournament, Messi has performed admirably and Rooney took to Twitter to praise the Paris Saint-Germain forward. Quoting his own tweet from 2012, which claimed Messi was the best ever, the D.C. United boss said: "Nothing has changed."
Some deemed this as being a dig at Ronaldo for his comments, but in his Times column, Rooney refuted those suggestions. He wrote: "Some took that [tweet] as a put-down to Cristiano Ronaldo but nothing could be further from the truth.
"I have the greatest respect for Cristiano and when people argue he is the greatest, I know where they are coming from and respect that opinion. But, for me, Messi is just different.
"I played against him several times and it’s his ability to take and hold the ball, to control games, run at players, pass and score and be the difference. Close up, you just can’t get near him.
"He is always in control. If he has the ball at his feet, he determines everything, your decision-making included. Being his opponent is a difficult place to be."
READ NEXT:
