Wayne Rooney has insisted that one former Manchester United teammate stood out above Cristiano Ronaldo when it came to linking up in the attacking threat at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford ahead of Wayne Rooney after the Red Devils landed him from Primeira Liga outfit Sporting CP in 2003.
The 40-year-old Portugal icon deeply impressed Sir Alex Ferguson – and other Manchester United players – when he played against the Red Devils in a friendly.
Ronaldo enjoyed a meteoric rise at the Premier League club under iconic former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson during his prolific first playing spell in England.
The United legend lifted three consecutive Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy, an FA Cup and two League Cups during his legendary run.
Ronaldo’s scintillating United spell also saw the Al Nassr captain capture the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards during his time under Ferguson at the Red Devils.
Wayne Rooney enjoyed playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Man Utd icon loved what Carlos Tevez offered
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first run at Old Trafford saw him link up in an incredible attacking trident with former Manchester United teammates Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
Rooney arrived at Old Trafford in 2004 after he left boyhood club Everton, while the Red Devils signed Carlos Tevez from West Ham in a loan deal in 2007.
The United trio of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez under Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the best attacking line-ups in the history of the Premier League.
Rooney was asked about his favourite partnership at United and the 40-year-old former United striker explained why Tevez stood out ahead of the rest.
Speaking on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show, he said: “Tevez, I really enjoyed playing with Carlos and I enjoyed playing with all of them, but with Carlos, there was a big thing in the papers when we were signing him saying that the two of us [were] too similar [and] we couldn’t play together.
“And yeah, I think for the both of us, that really like, you know, we were like, ‘Okay, we’ll show you and stuff [like that],’ and we were aggressive and we worked hard and tackled as well, but then bounced off each other.”
What Wayne Rooney thought about former Man Utd teammate Carlos Tevez spoke volumes
Ferguson’s famous United trio would be dismantled after Real Madrid legend Ronaldo and former Red Devils star Carlos Tevez both left Old Trafford.
Ronaldo completed a blockbuster move to Real Madrid in 2009, while Tevez left United in the same window and completed a shock transfer to Manchester City.
Rooney admitted that Tevez complemented him perfectly at the Red Devils due to the roles that they would take up on the pitch under ex-United boss Ferguson.
“One of us plays the [No] 9, the other is a [No] 10 and we change it up and yeah, so he was definitely the favourite one to play with,” he added.
Tevez would later play for the likes of Juventus, Boca Juniors and Shanghai Shenhua before the 41-year-old Argentine called it time on his playing career in 2022.
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