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
Wayne Rooney takes well-timed swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo as he labels Lionel Messi ‘the GREATEST player of all time’ and tips Argentina to win the World Cup, after ex-United team-mate branded him a ‘RAT’ in his bombshell interview
Wayne Rooney has aimed a well-timed dig at Cristiano Ronaldo by describing Lionel Messi as the ‘best’ footballer of all time, after his former Manchester United team-mate shockingly called him a ‘rat’ this week.
During his bombshell, tell-all interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo took aim at Rooney and suggested he held feelings of ‘jealousy’ towards him, following the ex-England star’s criticism of the Red Devils forward to the media earlier this season.
Rooney, who described Ronaldo’s comments as a ‘bit strange’ in a classy response on Friday, has aimed a dig at the Portuguese superstar by labelling Messi as the greatest footballer ever to grace the planet.
During an interview with The Times, the 37-year-old also backed Messi to lead Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar.
He said: ‘For me, Argentina are the favourites. Unlike in 2018, they have plenty of good, solid players around Lionel Messi such as Lautaro Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul and of course Angel Di Maria.
‘Winning the Copa America last year will have given them confidence and has taken a bit of pressure off them. The climate will suit them too. The only thing they are missing is a No 9, that focal point in attack, but I think they will be really dangerous.’
When asked whether a World Cup trophy would cement Messi as the best of all time, Rooney replied: ‘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.’
The ‘rat’ insult occurred during the interview after Morgan asked Ronaldo how Rooney could dislike him even more.
The 57-year-old interviewer asked: ‘More pounds in the bank or more Instagram followers?’
Ronaldo replied: ‘That’s a good question! Probably similar!’
Morgan continued: ‘I’m just trying to work out how Wayne Rooney could hate you even more.’
Ronaldo replied: ‘That’s a good question! Probably similar!’
Morgan continued: ‘I’m just trying to work out how Wayne Rooney could hate you even more.’
Ronaldo replied: ‘That’s a good question! Probably similar!’
Morgan continued: ‘I’m just trying to work out how Wayne Rooney could hate you even more.’
Ronaldo answered: ‘Not only him, imagine the rest of the rats they are going to criticise me too, but it is good to still be the No 1.’
When asked whether it was jealousy that prompted Rooney to criticise him, the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus star responded: ‘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.’
Responding to the interview, Rooney told CNN on Friday: ‘Well, listen, Cristiano Ronaldo’s a fantastic player and, as I’ve said before, he and Messi are the two best players probably to play the game.
And, again, it’s not a criticism. What I’ve said is age comes to all of us, and Cristiano is obviously is feeling that and he’s finding it hard to deal with that.
‘Obviously he’s done an interview that’s gone global. Bit strange, some of the comments are strange in there but I’m sure Manchester United will deal with it once they’ve seen the full interview and they’ll take whatever action they need to take.’
Sportsmail exclusively revealed on Friday that Manchester United have kickstarted the legal process in the hope of sacking Ronaldo by tearing up his £500,000-a-week contract.