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Former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's old comment about Wayne Rooney doing the bulk of the work up front with Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged.
Ronaldo and the now-retired Rooney played six seasons together at Old Trafford in the 2000s. The duo played 205 games across competitions together, making 25 joint goal contributions. Rooney scored 14 of these strikes from Ronaldo assists, while the Englishman returned the favour on 11 occasions.
Both Rooney and Ronaldo enjoyed hugely successful careers at Old Trafford. Rooney is United's top scorer with 253 goals in 559 games, with 97 of them coming while Ronaldo was at the club. Meanwhile, Ronaldo bagged 145 goals across competitions in 346 games. Most of these goals - 118 - came during his first spell at the club alongside Rooney
The duo achieved great success together - winning three straight Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League. However, Ibrahimovic observed in 2015 that Rooney deserved more credit when he played with Ronaldo, telling BBC (via SPORTbible):
"When he played with Cristiano Ronaldo, all the work was done by Rooney. These great players have their moments over one to three years. But to continue over five years, for ten years, the way Wayne Rooney has done is not easy. It's pressure every day playing for a big team."
Ronaldo's second spell at Old Trafford was far less fruitful, bagging 28 goals in one and a half seasons since arriving in 2021 before leaving by mutual consent.
How did Zlatan Ibrahimovic fare against Cristiano Ronaldo?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo locked horns 13 times across club and international football. The Swede emerged victorious three times, while Ronaldo did so on five occasions but lost their last two meetings.
Ronaldo beat Ibrahimovic while playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid (twice) and Portugal (twice). Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic's three wins over Ronaldo came with Barcelona and AC Milan (twice).
Across their 13 meetings, Ronaldo scored eight goals - including five for Portugal - while Ibrahimovic netted four times. Ibrahimovic retired at the end of the 2022-23 season, while Ronaldo is going strong with Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr, whom he joined on a free transfer in December.
