"We won every trophy" - When Cristiano Ronaldo named 1 Manchester United player he misses playing alongside

Cristiano Ronaldo spent seven and a half seasons at Manchester United across two stints, with most of his successs coming during his first spell between 2003 and 2009.

Arriving from Sporting CP in the summer of 2003, the now 40-year-old Ronaldo blossomed into one of the game's finest under the able tutelage of the legendary Sir Alex Fergusion. The Red Devils were one of the top teams in England and Europe at the time, with Ronaldo winning three straight Premier League titles and reaching consecutive UEFA Champions League finals, winning one.

During his six-season first stint at Old Trafford, Ronaldo enjoyed a fine partnership with the club's all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney, who's now a BBC pundit after retiring in 2021. In an interview with TNT Sports in April this year, the Al-Nassr attacker said that he missed playing with Rooney.

“The power of Wayne Rooney is his mentality and his strength - he never stops. He’s a fantastic team player, and he scores goals. We won every trophy - the Premier League, the Carling Cup, the Champions League.

“He’s a fantastic boy, and he helped me a lot when he came to join us in Manchester. I miss playing with him. Maybe in the future, we will play together again. I have to say congratulations to him. I know how hard it is to be number one."

Rooney arrived at Old Trafford a year after Ronaldo and left in 2017 as their top goalscorer with 253 strikes. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been with Al-Nassr since arriving on a free transfer in December 2022.

How Cristiano Ronaldo fared with Wayne Rooney at Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Wayne Rooney (right)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney - as mentioned above - enjoyed a hugely successful stint at Manchester United between 2004 and 2009. In 206 matches the prolific duo played together (both on the field at the same time), they recorded 26 joint goal contributions.

Twelve of these goals were scored by Ronaldo and the remaining 14 by Rooney. The duo's last joint goal contribution for the Red Devils came in the 3-1 2008-09 UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg win at Arsenal.

Ronaldo's strike just past the hour mark at the Emirates put Manchester United three goals to the good on the night and 4-0 up on aggregate. The defending champions, though, lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the final, in Ronaldo's last game for United before moving to Real Madrid that summer.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Bhargav