legend Nemanja Vidic says Wayne Rooney ‘failed’ in comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair spearheaded a new era at Old Trafford, with Rooney joining from in 2004 following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival from Sporting Lisbon a year earlier.
Ronaldo was a year older than Rooney but the forward was arguably the greater talent at that point following his scintillating displays for the Three Lions at Euro 2004.
It wasn’t until the 2006/7 campaign when Ronaldo overtook Rooney to become United’s talisman and his game went from strength to strength in the upcoming years before a £80m move to in 2009.
While Rooney continued at the top level and would go on to become top scorer for club and country, his United career came to an end in 2018 and he retired three years later.
Ronaldo, by contrast, went on to win five Champions League titles after leaving United and he even returned to the club after Rooney’s retirement.
Though Ronaldo’s second stint ended horribly, he was top scorer in his first year back at the club with 26 goals at the age of 37-year-old.
And Vidic says Rooney ‘failed’ his talent by failing to look after his body in the same way Ronaldo did.
‘You see Cristiano [Ronaldo] on Instagram, it’s all flashy stuff but he deserves it,’ Vidic told the FIVE YouTube channel.
‘At his age, 18, 19, to 21 to have that mentality to work hard, not go out, fight for your dream, the way he did it he deserves everything he got. For me, , he failed in terms of that.
‘He is the one I think, if he was closer in mentality as he can achieve much more. Definitely, that is my feeling.
‘Physically he was amazing, technically as well. He is a great teammate on the pitch, him and Carlos Tevez, as a defender you want them on the pitch, they worked hard for the team.
‘In one moment they are similar, the same. What brought Cristiano Ronaldo much higher was his mentality to change, to work hard, to improve, to have goals.
‘I’m not saying Wayne didn’t have a mentality, but he played pure on his talent. He didn’t invest in his body, invest in extra training, the physical side.
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