Piers Morgan has launched a staunch defence of Cristiano Ronaldo after Wayne Rooney said he thinks his former team-mate should be on the bench when Manchester United host Liverpool on Monday night.
Rooney, United's all-time top goalscorer, wrote in a column for The Times that he "wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo" against Jurgen Klopp's side.
And Arsenal fan Morgan has tweeted a response to the now DC United manager's claim. He said: "Rooney has a managerial win record of 28 per cent, and his DC United team lost 6-0 yesterday. So I suggest he pipes down with the management advice and endless jealous b****ing about @cristiano whose talent, success and fitness levels all dwarf Rooney's."
Morgan regularly defends five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo, who was left on the bench for United's opening day defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford, before being reinstated to the starting XI last weekend when Erik Ten Hag's side were humbled 4-0 at Brentford.
Rooney said: "I wouldn't play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn't play Marcus Rashford. If I was in Ten Hag's position, my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United's failure to recruit a number nine means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn't trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit.
"He has also let it be known that he wants to leave the club. I don't know his reasons but, as I wrote in my last column, I'd let him - he's a great player and will always score goals, but the task for Ten Hag is to produce a team that can compete for the title in three or four years' time. That means rebuilding with younger players."
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