Anyone read 'Winners' by Alistair Campbell? He talks about Ronaldo quite a bit. He cites an example when he visited Carrington. He was with a coach and watching Rooney and Ronaldo outside training. Campbell remarked about how brilliant they both were. The coach agreed but stated that only one will become truly great - Ronaldo. The chief difference being that Rooney knows he's good and that he's 'made it'; whereas Ronaldo never settles, he's always looking to develop and make marginal gains. His attitude is phenomenal.
Rooney or Ronaldo
- Thread starter Andy_Cole
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Yet I think Ronaldo will go down as the most loved between the two.
Ronaldo.
United started to decline when Ronaldo left. The heights from 06-09 would have been impossible without him. That was arguably the best period in the history of the club.
United started to decline when Ronaldo left. The heights from 06-09 would have been impossible without him. That was arguably the best period in the history of the club.
I don't dislike Ronaldo too much, but I also don't get the fawning over a player who gave his peak years to another club as if nothing happened. He, as @Ixion said even compared himself to a slave yet most people seem to have let it go while directing their bile at Rooney.
As far as I remember, while Rooney may have asked for a pay rise, his initial displeasure came from a point of not wanting to the see the side slip too far behind Barca. He could see what we all could, the quality of signings wasn't up to previous standards. He was keen to see us compete for better players in the transfer market, which is only an extension of what posters on here were spouting with their constant mocking of the "value in the market" phrase.
The only plus Rooney had above CR was being English.
The key difference between Rooney and Ronaldo is that Ronaldo left the club when we were enjoying a period of success. He didn't leave for money but other reasons (family/culture) which makes sense but also for a new challenge. He wanted to compete head to head with Messi..and it's made him a far better player.
Rooney on the otherhand just wanted to cash in after 1 good season, just at the point the manager had built the entire team around him. He would actually have gone to City or Chelsea too. Then after getting his contract he completely went to ****.
That's the biggest reason he'll never be a club legend.
Rooney on the otherhand just wanted to cash in after 1 good season, just at the point the manager had built the entire team around him. He would actually have gone to City or Chelsea too. Then after getting his contract he completely went to ****.
That's the biggest reason he'll never be a club legend.
You might want to check your own username there...
I'm talking about a period, not a year.
Well even so, 7 titles in 9 years, 3 FA Cups, the Champions League. 2006-2009 doesn't trump that.
Well, I said 'arguably'. I prefer the 06-09 version. And I'm sure many others too.
The PL wasn't a top top league back in the 90s. It was the 3rd or 4th best league then. Whereas the PL was the best league in the world between 06-09 with several English teams making the QFs and the SFs of the CL in that period. To win 3 consecutive PL titles and reach 2 back to back CL finals was more impressive in my book.
Yeah he got a big contract but a part of United's downfall should be blamed on the guy who stuck around here throughout his career and became our all time top scorer?
I'll absolutely never understand our fans for this. Ronaldo's behavior that window of 08 was more disgraceful than anything Rooney has ever done here. He called himself a slave, never denied the rumors, made Fergie fly down to Portugal to meet him, kept adding fuel to the fire, interviewed himself and said he's not leaving and putting in a transfer the next week and actually went on to leave and he's loved despite all of that bs. And no don't give me the Madrid was his dream nonsense either. Anywhere in Spain would have done for him, he was just desperate to leave and go on to something greater.
Rooney has scored against every big team possible, he's dominated quarter and semi final of the CL, he scored a wonderful goal against Barca in the final. He was a major big game player for us.
I would choose a 15 year old messi over both. Lol
This. No doubt Ronaldo is the far superior player but I'd rather have Rooney's decade here than Ronaldo's 3 quality years.
They were reports that Rooney let the squad know that all those shenanigans were to simply get an improved contract. I think it was John O'shea who confirmed that. Lets not try and make it something it was not. It was probably engineered by Paul Stretford and it worked like a charm. Because once he got his contract, his concerns about the poor squad never resurfaced again.
But Rooney was perfectly entitled to ask for more money, just as fans are entitled to hold that episode against him.
As for Ronaldo, wasnt it Sepp Blatter that came out with the slave comments? Ronaldo moved on from United and made it clear too, its just sad that a lot of fans seemingly cant let go.
Ronaldo's desire to break records, win trophies and be regarded as the best has helped his teams win consistently. His goalscoring record is absolutely freakish. Had he stayed with us, I don't think we'd be in this position right now.
Even this season when he has supposedly declined massively, yet he's scored 35 goals and is on course to be part of the first team to retain the CL in it's current form.
Rooney never seemed to have the desire to make push after push. I think we all saw his game visibly drop off during the 12/13 season where he was what, 26/27?
I don't know him personally, but it's widely known he likes a drink, probably likes a burger and I imagine a cigarette will be found on his person often enough. He was naturally a very good raw footballer, but as he became MORE tactically trained the beauty of his game wore off. I can't remember the last time I watched him and thought he stood out as the outstanding footballer for United or England. I'm not saying it to slag him off, he just can't be compared to Ronaldo who is up there with the greatest of all time.
Even this season when he has supposedly declined massively, yet he's scored 35 goals and is on course to be part of the first team to retain the CL in it's current form.
Rooney never seemed to have the desire to make push after push. I think we all saw his game visibly drop off during the 12/13 season where he was what, 26/27?
I don't know him personally, but it's widely known he likes a drink, probably likes a burger and I imagine a cigarette will be found on his person often enough. He was naturally a very good raw footballer, but as he became MORE tactically trained the beauty of his game wore off. I can't remember the last time I watched him and thought he stood out as the outstanding footballer for United or England. I'm not saying it to slag him off, he just can't be compared to Ronaldo who is up there with the greatest of all time.
Absurd. We've won so many league title before Ronaldo. That we did not win recently was more to other reasons (Fergie leaving and succession of managers, dysfunctional midfield, etc) than Ronaldo's departure.
Unless the topic is about who would win a pie eating contest or something like that(this is the first time I've refused to read the topic of a thread before replying), the answer is always going to be Ronaldo. He will go down as one of the greatest players in history.
United post 2004 have always been a flawed team. We had the likes of Anderson, Fletcher, Cleverley and Gibson playing... an absolute lack of consistency in the midfield. CR's time here was not his peak, but we had a gem of an attack, with him, Rooney and Tevez which was very flexible and dynamic and was able to mask the deficiencies of the midfield.
Not in his time with United. Did you actually read the OP?
Disagree. If Rooney had left in 2009 and Ronaldo would have stayed at United for the rest of his career I'm absolutely certain you'd have won more titles.
Ronaldo masked the deficiencies of a weak midfield. Plus Ronaldo-Rooney-Tevez was just a superb attack. I don't think so he can continue doing that for multiple seasons. Or he alone could keep us on top despite the weakness.
Ronaldo without doubt
Where did O'Shea say that?
I think it's possible for both reasons to exist, they're not mutually exclusive. I'm sure he very actually did want a pay rise as I said in my previous post, after all he got a hugely inflated £250,000 a week deal not long after handing in a transfer request so it's not like it takes a genius to see through it. All I'm saying is it's likely he saw our recruitment policy waning and found himself as the main man and so probably wanted to exploit that. Nothing wrong with it although I do wish it hadn't been quite so public, there are ways to go about it. Keane in 2000 for instance.
Blatter made the initial slave comment but Ronaldo agreed with him in order to get his move. But we all know Blatter is a piece of shit anyway.
Read the statement again mate. It says wanting to move for no footballing reasons. Rooney in 2010 made a valid point about the strength of our squad and in 2013 he was told he was no longer first choice. Whether you agree with him or not, both these reasons are footballing reasons.
As for City and Chelsea, it's the same myth propogated over and over again. When did Rooney say he wanted to move to either of these clubs? In fact no one apart from the media said this and yet people accept it as gospel. Just because City and Chelsea were interested in him doesn't mean he wanted to go there. He himself later came out and said he hadn't even thought where he would go if he left Utd? Maybe you don't want to believe him and that's fine but why believe media gossip over something coming from the horse's mouth?
He's one of the greatest footballers of all-time. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to have a similar impact as Suárez did in a much weaker team.
You literally answered the question in the first sentence.
This just seems like a subtle way to shit on Rooney.
This just seems like a subtle way to shit on Rooney.
Ronnie joined at a time when Chelsea looked unstoppable in the league and our squad was in a state of transition, with the likes of Djemba Djemba, Kleberson, Bellion and Liam Millar representing the club. The devil arrived at old trafford in the form of Malcolm Glazer intent on destroying the club from within, United fans were burning effigies of Fergie and demanding his immediate dismissal following some pretty horiffic singings on his part and let's not forget "that's bollox" gate. It was a dark time to be a United fan back then, the future was hopeless.
Enter Ronaldo, the saviour of our club. Seriously, the guy single handedly brought the club back from the brink of despair. We would be at the bottom of league 2 were it not for Ronnie's heroics. His impact was as significant, perhaps more so, than that of King Eric the Great and I don't say that lightly. Rooney, as great as he was, pales in comparison to Ronnie the Magician.
Enter Ronaldo, the saviour of our club. Seriously, the guy single handedly brought the club back from the brink of despair. We would be at the bottom of league 2 were it not for Ronnie's heroics. His impact was as significant, perhaps more so, than that of King Eric the Great and I don't say that lightly. Rooney, as great as he was, pales in comparison to Ronnie the Magician.
Cringeworthy. More than Cantona? Jaysus!
When all said and done, Ronaldo will be seen as (and regard himself as) a Real Madrid legend not a United one. Rooney is a United legend, although I am not personally his greatest fan.
Rooney's body has always been against him. Super stocky, even as a youngster, he's had to work especially hard just to keep himself at an acceptable level of fitness; Ronnie's physique is much more suited to that of an elite athlete.
I'd say they're on par for pure footballing intelligence and intensity, it's just that Ronaldo is so much fitter than Rooney he's able to keep up with what his brain wants to do. Rooney seems like he's always playing catch up on his instincts.
Rooney will go down as a club legend in my eyes, but Ronaldo all day long.
I'd say they're on par for pure footballing intelligence and intensity, it's just that Ronaldo is so much fitter than Rooney he's able to keep up with what his brain wants to do. Rooney seems like he's always playing catch up on his instincts.
Rooney will go down as a club legend in my eyes, but Ronaldo all day long.
With you on this EAP
If Rooney wouldn't have injured himself against Bayern, that season would've been close to Ronaldo's best. But he did
Ronaldo will be considered a Real Madrid legend and a football legend in general. Realistically he should be considered a United legend too. He was your best and most important player during one of the best periods in your history.
It's more that Ronaldo is just far more disciplined than Rooney, trains harder, eats better and lives a healthier lifestyle. Rooney smokes, drinks and eats junk food while Ronaldo is a health and gym obsessive.
The stats may have been closer but the importance and quality of the goals, as well as all round standard of play were not comparable.
Personally, I feel Rooney's performances in the 2009-10 season were overrated. He was never that player who would scare you when he picked up the ball 40m from goal in the same way Ronaldo was at United or even Rooney himself a few years earlier.
I think they would've been comparable, although not equal. Rooney had a great claim on the 3rd spot in Ballon D'Or before that injury, he was incredible not only for us, but also for England (top scorer of the qualifications and close to 1 in 1 stats iirc). We were stronger than that Bayern side, which made it to the final; There is a possibility that uninjured Rooney would've transferred his form to the World Cup too...
What if, what if.
Yeah so it didn't win the game did it? By that logic, Rooney s goal would have won United the 2011 final if Barca hadn't scored. But they did. Ronaldo scored and then we conceded. Then he missed a penalty and we would have lost if Terry hadn't slipped at the crucial moment and blasted his kick wide. Surely he didn't win us that game.
It's not that Ronaldo is about supporting cast. Just that Rooney was flanked by inferior players so it's obvious that you expect less goals. Not to mention Ronaldo only scored 26 in all competitions in 08/09 so it's not like he himself could keep it going consistently like he now does at RM either. He is obviously multiple levels above Rooney overall but based on his United career alone, it's highly debatable that he was all that superior.
Eh? Ronnie joined in summer 2003. We were the champions at the time.
Yeah quite possible especially when we had berba and Owen as our other striking options. It was quite a loss at the time.