Wayne Rooney has said that he had a stronger attacking connection with one of his former Manchester United teammates than with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo made the move to Old Trafford before Rooney, having joined from Sporting CP in 2003.
The 40-year-old Portuguese forward left a strong impression on Sir Alex Ferguson and his future teammates during that friendly appearance.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo developed rapidly at Manchester United, becoming a key player during his first stint in England.
During that time, he helped the team win three Premier League titles in a row, as well as the Champions League, FA Cup and two League Cups.
It was also under Ferguson at United where Ronaldo picked up his first Ballon d’Or trophy, which would eventually become one of five in his career.
Wayne Rooney always admired playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Man Utd legend preferred what Carlos Tevez brought to the pitch
Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez were linked to a remarkable attacking trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo during his first spell at Old Trafford.
After leaving boyhood club Everton in 2004, Wayne Rooney landed at Old Trafford before Manchester United picked up Carlos Tevez from West Ham on loan in 2007.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s United squad is often thought of as one of the top attacking line-ups to play in the Premier League thanks to Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez.
Speaking on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show, he said: “Tevez, I really enjoyed playing with Carlos and I enjoyed playing with all of them, but with Carlos, there was a big thing in the papers when we were signing him saying that the two of us [were] too similar [and] we couldn’t play together.”
“And yeah, I think for the both of us, that really like, you know, we were like, ‘Okay, we’ll show you and stuff [like that],’ and we were aggressive and we worked hard and tackled as well but then bounced off each other.”
Wayne Rooney says Carlos Tevez brought something special to the Man Utd attack
Sir Alex Ferguson built a side around one of the most memorable attacking trios in Premier League history. But it didn’t last long. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009, while Tevez went across town to sign for Manchester City that same summer.
Rooney remained at Old Trafford and continued to play a key role under Ferguson, but there was no direct replacement for what Tevez brought to the team.
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“One of us plays the [No] 9, the other is a [No] 10 and we change it up and yeah, so he was definitely the favourite one to play with,” he added.
Tevez went on to feature for Juventus, Boca Juniors and Shanghai Shenhua before bringing his playing career to an end in 2022 at the age of 41.
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