Wayne Rooney is reportedly 'bemused' by Cristiano Ronaldo's stinging comments towards him - but it's said he feels 'no animosity' towards the Portuguese superstar.
Ronaldo, 37, has questioned Rooney's retirement and appearance in a spectacular interview with Piers Morgan. The Manchester United forward's comments came after the former England captain, also 37, criticised Ronaldo's behaviour and form this season.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner refused to come on and stormed down the tunnel in United's 2-0 win against Tottenham last month. He has scored just three goals in 16 club games for this term and finds himself playing a supporting role for Erik ten Hag's side.
Ronaldo has told his side of the story in an interview with Morgan, which is released in full on Wednesday and Thursday. The veteran forward has criticised his employers and Ten Hag, as well as several others - including Ralf Rangnick, Gary Neville and Rooney.
The football world is now waiting to hear Rooney's response. According to Sky Sports, Rooney is 'bemused' by his former team-mate's words but feels 'no animosity' towards him. Rooney is not expected to make a public statement on the matter.
Rooney was asked whether Ronaldo makes United a better team interview with talkSPORT. "No, I don't think so," said Rooney. "Him and [Lionel] Messi are arguably the two best players of all-time and you can go either way with that, whatever way you decide.
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"But I just think the things he has done from the start of the season, it is not acceptable for Man Utd. I’ve seen Roy Keane defending him. Roy wouldn’t accept that. Roy wouldn’t accept that at all.
"It is a distraction which Man Utd don’t need at the minute, trying to rebuild. For Cristiano, just get your head down and work and be ready to play when the manager needs you. If he does that, he will be an asset. If he doesn’t, it will become an unwanted distraction."
When asked about Rooney's comments, Ronaldo said: "I don't understand, you should ask this question to him. I don't know why he criticised me so bad."
Ronaldo was then asked if he thinks Rooney is jealous of him, to which he said: "Probably, because he finished his career in his 30s. I'm still playing at a high level, I'm not going to say that I'm looking better than him, which is true.
"It's hard to listen to that kind of criticism and negativity from people who played with you, for example Gary Neville as well... They are not my friends. It's easy to criticise, I don't know if they have a job in television that they must criticise to be more famous."
Rooney retired from playing nearly two years ago, in January 2021, to take the full-time manager's role at then Championship side Derby. Despite calling it a day aged 35, Rooney remains a legend of the English game after winning 16 honours - including five Premier League titles - and becoming United's all-time record scorer with 253 goals.
