Rooney has eye on Ronaldo revenge

Published Feb. 21, 2010 3:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

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."