Wayne Rooney would welcome the opportunity to gain World Cup
revenge over former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rooney saw red after a challenge on Ricardo Carvalho during
England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal four years
ago, with Ronaldo vilified for winking at the bench as the striker
trudged from the field.
Many pundits expected the duo to become club enemies after
the international incident, but Rooney immediately buried the
hatchet to ensure the Red Devils were not distracted in their quest
for glory.
Despite Ronaldo having left Old Trafford in the summer in an
£80million move to Real Madrid, the duo remain in touch.
But with the possibility of another head-to-head meeting on
the cards at South Africa this summer, Rooney has one eye on
revenge.
He said: "Cristiano is rightly the World Player of the Year
and, in my eyes, is still the best in the world.
"I'd do anything I could to try to get him off that pitch,
and I understand why he did it to me.
"I spoke to him after the game. I knew what was coming and
what was going to happen in the press. I said: 'Just make sure you
get your head right.'
"It was an important year for United and I didn't want that
to ruin our chances of challenging that year and it didn't.
"From that night onwards we had no problems and we're still
pals. We still speak regularly on the phone and he was a brilliant
player for United."
Rooney burst onto the international scene at Euro 2004 before
his tournament was prematurely ended by a broken metatarsal against
Portugal, with the same foes accounting for Sven-Goran Eriksson's
side in Germany two years later.
The United star, who is enjoying the most prolific season of
his career, is eager for success on the global stage with Fabio
Capello now at the helm after the dark days of Steve McClaren's
reign.
He added: "I have big targets to achieve with United between
now and the end of the season but I also can't wait for the World
Cup.
"Both my tournaments with England have ended in
disappointment. The first one I broke my foot at Euro 2004 and the
second one I got a red card.
"Hopefully, I can have a better time this summer and with
Fabio Capello in charge we know we will be focused on trying to
win."
