Cristiano Ronaldo’s new ‘approval’ of Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney’s exchange with Virgil van Dijk could lead to another disagreement
Wayne Rooney may be at risk of a fresh spat with Cristiano Ronaldo after the forward shared a new verdict that differs from Manchester United icon Lionel Messi’s own opinion. Ronaldo is still playing football and is well into his third season with Al Nasr in the Saudi Professional League.
The 40-year-old has now scored eight goals this season after scoring two goals in Al Nasr’s recent match against Al Faiha. But it was a controversial new interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan that put him back in mainstream headlines.
The document was released on Tuesday and covered a number of topics, including the debate over Messi or Ronaldo and, of course, the dispute with the man himself, which was made clear in the ruling.
read more: Cristiano Ronaldo criticizes Manchester United’s hierarchy again, delivers verdict on Ruben Amorimread more: Wayne Rooney responds to Virgil van Dijk’s ‘lazy’ criticism
“Is Messi better than me? I don’t think so. I don’t want to be humble,” Ronaldo said on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Back in September, on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Rooney referenced past comments in which he said Messi is better than Ronaldo, but this time he chose to offer a more balanced verdict.
“People think I hate him (Ronaldo),” Rooney said. “I love him. I think he’s an absolute genius and what he’s doing is incredible.
“I love Cristiano and I love playing with him. In fact, I don’t think people realize how close we were. I think just because I say I think Messi is better than Ronaldo, people think I don’t like Cristiano.”
“I really love Messi, I love watching him play, and that was the only reason, because I think Messi was a little bit better in terms of the way he played, the way he used players, etc. Ronaldo is a killer – and people think that because I said Messi is better than Ronaldo, I don’t like him and I don’t despise him.”
“Maybe this person likes Messi or Ronaldo better, but no, I don’t think you can argue with either of those two. But I think people think: ‘Oh, Wayne said Messi is better than Ronaldo.’
“I get asked all the time. I’m like, ‘Come on.’ Two of the best players of all time, well, in my opinion, they’re two of the best players that ever played in this game. And I just like a little bit of flair from Messi, and that’s it.”
“Cristiano is an absolute genius at what he does. He’s only just turned 40. What he’s doing is incredible and my hat is off to him. I couldn’t say anything bad about him.”
Rooney has also been involved in a more direct war of words with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. The latter recently responded to his own criticism by calling him “lazy”, with Rooney himself giving his own response on the latest edition of The Wayne Rooney Show.
“Van Dijk is one of the best players in the world, as was Mo Salah for the last five years,” he said. “Last year it was hard to say anything bad because they were so good and so was he. If he was honest with himself, he would say he wasn’t at his best this season.”
As a captain, your job is to call a meeting with your teammates and that’s what I really said, as a leader, I’m sure he’s done that and I completely respect him.
“He’s a great player, but my job now as a pundit is to say what I feel. If you ask him or Arne Slott, he probably hasn’t been as good a player as he has been in the last few years. That was my comment.”
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