“Will drop Ronaldo, play Messi,” says Rooney; takes fresh jibe at former teammate

By Online Desk

Former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney said he would drop his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo if he were managing him. 

Rooney, who was part of  JioCinema’s pre-match panel ahead of the FIFA World Cup opener between Qatar and Ecuador, responded to a game of ‘Play, Bench and Drop’ featuring Ronaldo, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and England skipper Harry Kane. 

“I would start Messi, bench Kane and drop Ronaldo because he stopped playing for his club,” the Manchester United legend said.

This comes amid a war of words between the former Manchester United teammates, with Rooney criticising Ronaldo’s behaviour at the club. 

A tough choice awaits @WayneRooney

Who does he START, BENCH & DROP?#FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 #WorldsGreatestShow #FIFAWorldCup #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/YTQHDPbH2P

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) November 20, 2022

Ronaldo hit back at Rooney during his controversial interview with Piers Morgan this past week. Ronaldo said he was “better looking” than the English legend and claimed the latter’s comments were out of jealousy.  

“I don’t know why he criticises me so badly… probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true,” said the 37-year-old Portuguese. 

He furthered his attack with a ‘rat’ jibe directed at Rooney after Morgan asked Ronaldo, “I’m just trying to work out how Wayne Rooney could hate you even more?”

He responded, “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.”

Rooney, in his response, called Ronaldo’s comments “a bit strange” and said the club would take “whatever action they needed to” upon watching the full interview.

“He’s a fantastic player. He and [Lionel] Messi are probably the two best players to play the game. It’s not a criticism, what I’ve said is age comes to all of us, Cristiano is finding it hard to deal with that,” the DC United coach said to CNN.

Ronaldo’s ill-advised interview has got him into deep trouble with his club Manchester United. The club responded by saying it had “initiated appropriate steps” against the Portuguese for his dubious comments on manager Erik ten Hag, teammates, executives and owners.
ALSO READ | Ronaldo gambles on World Cup to restore ‘toxic’ reputation

<br /> Former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney said he would drop his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo if he were managing him. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Rooney, who was part of  JioCinema’s pre-match panel ahead of the FIFA World Cup opener between Qatar and Ecuador, responded to a game of ‘Play, Bench and Drop’ featuring Ronaldo, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and England skipper Harry Kane. </p> <p>“I would start Messi, bench Kane and drop Ronaldo because he stopped playing for his club,” the Manchester United legend said.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>This comes amid a war of words between the former Manchester United teammates, with Rooney criticising Ronaldo’s behaviour at the club. </p> <p>A tough choice awaits @WayneRooney<br /> Who does he START, BENCH & DROP?#FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 #WorldsGreatestShow #FIFAWorldCup #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/YTQHDPbH2P<br /> — JioCinema (@JioCinema) November 20, 2022<br /> Ronaldo hit back at Rooney during his controversial interview with Piers Morgan this past week. Ronaldo said he was “better looking” than the English legend and claimed the latter’s comments were out of jealousy.  </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“I don’t know why he criticises me so badly… probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at a high level. I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true,” said the 37-year-old Portuguese. <br /> He furthered his attack with a ‘rat’ jibe directed at Rooney after Morgan asked Ronaldo, “I’m just trying to work out how Wayne Rooney could hate you even more?”</p> <p>He responded, “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.”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Rooney, in his response, called Ronaldo’s comments “a bit strange” and said the club would take “whatever action they needed to” upon watching the full interview.</p> <p>“He’s a fantastic player. He and [Lionel] Messi are probably the two best players to play the game. It’s not a criticism, what I’ve said is age comes to all of us, Cristiano is finding it hard to deal with that,” the DC United coach said to CNN.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Ronaldo’s ill-advised interview has got him into deep trouble with his club Manchester United. The club responded by saying it had “initiated appropriate steps” against the Portuguese for his dubious comments on manager Erik ten Hag, teammates, executives and owners.ALSO READ | Ronaldo gambles on World Cup to restore ‘toxic’ reputation<br />