Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson rated Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as the two best players in Europe when they played together at the Old Trafford-based club.
After not winning the league for three straight seasons, United won three in a row between 2006 and 2009 when Ronaldo and Rooney combined to form a potent forward pair. The Portuguese then moved to La Liga giants Real Madrid in 2009 for a record fee at that time.
“At that period, those two — I think — were the best in Europe,” Ferguson said in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I really do. It was a fantastic period for us. We went on to win the European Cup, 2008 in Moscow.”
The two players formed a formidable alliance in 2006-07, scoring a total of 104 Premier League goals between them in three seasons.
The duo combined to score one of the greatest counter-attacking goals of all time in the history of the game, going from their own box to Jussi Jääskeläinen’s net in less than 10 seconds, all on their own.
“[That a] wee squat guy from Liverpool, and a fresh young boy, six-foot-two kid from Portugal can combine like they did in that particular game is fantastic,” Ferguson said while recalling the epic goal.
“We sort of scuffed it clear, it went to Ronaldo, he passed it to Wayne, Wayne passed it back, [Ronaldo] passed it back. They were jigsaw-ing right up the pitch.
“They scored this fantastic goal — the way he chipped the goalkeeper. It was unbelievable!”
Ronaldo and Rooney won three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two League Cups and a Club World Cup together at Manchester United under Alex Ferguson’s tutelage.
Rooney scored a total of 253 goals for Manchester United, which is the most for any player for the club, whereas Ronaldo netted 145 goals in 346 appearances for the Red Devils across his two stints.
