Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and more: Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney builds his 5-a-side team of teammates

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has included Cristiano Ronaldo in his 5-a-side team of teammates. He included four former United players and one former Everton player in his team.

Rooney was on Rio Ferdinand's podcast for an interview published on September 24. The latter asked him to pick a 5-a-side team of players he's played with without any goalkeepers. The former England striker picked Michael Carrick. He shared the pitch 266 times with the former midfielder for Manchester United and England, combining for three goals.

Rooney picked Paul Scholes, with whom he shared the pitch 242 times for the Red Devils and the Three Lions, combining for eight goals. He then picked Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he shared the pitch 205 times for United, combining for 27 goals. The two players formed a lethal partnership, helping their side win numerous trophies.

Rooney also named 13-time Premier League winner Ryan Giggs in his team. They shared the pitch 278 times for Manchester United, combining for 23 goals. He finally picked former midfielder Thomas Graveson, with whom he shared the pitch 62 times for Everton.

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Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney opened up on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo

In the aforementioned interview, the Manchester United record goalscorer also spoke about his criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo. He said that just because he prefers Lionel Messi, many people think that he hates the Portuguese. Rooney asserted that this is not the case and lauded Ronaldo's abilities.

The former Manchester United striker said:

“People think I hate him, I love him! I think he's an absolute genius; what he's doing is incredible. I don't think people realise how close he and I were. Just because I've said Messi is better than Ronaldo, people think I don't like Cristiano. What he's doing... To be honest, over the last couple of years, I'm thinking, 'Do you know what?', he's probably gonna be the one when you look back, Cristiano, because he keeps going."

“I think these last three seasons he's the top goalscorer in Saudi [Arabia] and whatever. I absolutely love Messi, I love watching him play, and that was the only reason because I think Messi had a little bit more in terms of how he played, and taking players on."

Rooney added:

"Ronaldo's a killer, People think because I've said Messi is better than Ronaldo, that I don't like him or I speak down on him. [I prefer the way Messi plays], that's it - you might prefer Cristiano, this person might prefer Messi or Ronaldo, but I don't think you can argue with any of them two. I just like the little flair about Messi, and that's it."

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney formed an excellent partnership for Manchester United before the latter's move to Real Madrid in 2009.