Overview

• Rooney used Rio Ferdinand Presents to reject claims he hates Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he values how close they were at Manchester United.
• He described Ronaldo as an "absolute genius" and applauded his continued goal scoring in Saudi Arabia at age 40.
• He reaffirmed a personal preference for Lionel Messi’s style yet stressed that such preference does not signal any dislike of Ronaldo.
• He noted that Ronaldo’s longevity could influence retrospective greatest-of-all-time judgments while placing both players among the elite.
• The remarks follow a strained period dating to 2022, when Ronaldo refused to come on against Tottenham, exited early, had his United contract terminated, and later downplayed ties to Rooney and Gary Neville in a Piers Morgan interview.