Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo: In 2004-06 who did you think would become the better player?

[Slog]

Discuss.

I thought Ronaldo was a bit profligate

Rooney didnt work as hard unfortunately and had bad injuries.

 

[msb314]

Discuss.

I thought Ronaldo was a bit profligate

Rooney didnt work as hard unfortunately and had bad injuries.

Ronaldo was always the more talented player IMO.

Rooney I think worked hard and was a very good all-round player. His issue was that he lacked impact in big games became less of a goal scoring threat as the years went by (whilst Ronaldo and Zlatan did the opposite and became pure strikers) and tried to mold himself into a midfielder which turned out to be a disaster.

 

[big_gamer007]

The first match ronaldo played for united against Bolton I think united were leading 1-0 and ronaldo came up as a substitute and ended up winning 4-0.. That day anyone who watched ronaldo play for those 20-30 mins knew he is going to be a superstar.. In post match analysis Paul Masefield said the same thing this kid is going to be a mega star..


Rooney was great but ronaldo is a different league..

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I hate to be the party popper here boys but Jese Rodriguez is better than both of these hacks.



My work here is done.......I'll just see myself out now

 

[Slog]

The first match ronaldo played for united against Bolton I think united were leading 1-0 and ronaldo came up as a substitute and ended up winning 4-0.. That day anyone who watched ronaldo play for those 20-30 mins knew he is going to be a superstar.. In post match analysis Paul Masefield said the same thing this kid is going to be a mega star..


Rooney was great but ronaldo is a different league..

I remember that so well.

However Rooney's first few games for United were better than Ronaldo's

Uptill 2005-06 season end, Rooney was more effective than Ronaldo and more of a complete product

However Ronaldo just skyrocketed in 2006-07 season onwards

I still think the Ronaldo till 2007 was perhaps better than the one over last 5 years despite all the goals

Now he is more of a sharpshooter looking for gooals

Back then he used to a lot more work

 

[bones]

Only biased English reporters and hardcore fans of Rooney could say that at any point during their early careers would Rooney ended up better. Rooney didn't have the pace or the trickery that Ronaldo did. Ronaldo ever at the start of his Utd career showed he was more versatile and able to switch flanks more easily. Ronaldo vs Rooney, one gave defenders nightmares, the other was 3rd/4th on the list when it came to planning for Utd.

Utd had a powerful squad back then, guys like Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Giggs, Scholes, Keane and others as well.

 

[UN talkz]

Ronaldo



















Rooney

 

[Protea Fan]

I did think cristiano should end up as a better player than rooney because he have all that aura most young players lacks that time.I thought he would become a great player but more in the mould of Robben or Ribery,certainly a world class but not on the level of some all time greats of the game but he proves me wrong

Back then Rooney was sensational especially right after the 2005–06 season when he was busy bulldozing defences in the Premier League with his incredible pace, technique and finishing ability for someone of his age but didn't do justice to the talent

On a comparison ronaldo had surrounded by much immense hype ever since his teengae days and he did justice to that till date

Ronaldo wins many hearts in 2004 euro itself with his flamboyant step overs, dribbles and pace

That 18 year old boy was doing his all.There was a sheer passion in his eyes

He was there heart broken after that final lose in absolute pain in front of home crowd.

Since then, every other final he has been in, he's the favorite. Every final, he lost since, meant a change

YES, for I saw a boy who would never let his passion die thats why he is so successful

Every time I thought that he was at his peak, Cristiano proved me wrong moving to the La Liga and directly competing with Messi truly motivated him to work hard and always get better. Ironically, Rooney, although still having an overall great career for his achievements and contributions to Manchester United, never reached the same heights as Cristiano ,if anything he peaked too early and started to show several signs of decline in his gameplay within the last 2–3 years, while CR7 still managed to effectively boss games and score tons of decisive goals despite losing a bit of the pace and speed that he was well-known for early in his career.

For that alone, I have nothing but admiration and massive respect for Cristiano he is a true model professional not just for aspiring footballers but also for anyone out there willing to be successful in life regardless of his or her career choice

 

[Slog]

I did think cristiano should end up as a better player than rooney because he have all that aura most young players lacks that time.I thought he would become a great player but more in the mould of Robben or Ribery,certainly a world class but not on the level of some all time greats of the game but he proves me wrong

Back then Rooney was sensational especially right after the 2005–06 season when he was busy bulldozing defences in the Premier League with his incredible pace, technique and finishing ability for someone of his age but didn't do justice to the talent

On a comparison ronaldo had surrounded by much immense hype ever since his teengae days and he did justice to that till date

Ronaldo wins many hearts in 2004 euro itself with his flamboyant step overs, dribbles and pace

That 18 year old boy was doing his all.There was a sheer passion in his eyes

He was there heart broken after that final lose in absolute pain in front of home crowd.

Since then, every other final he has been in, he's the favorite. Every final, he lost since, meant a change

YES, for I saw a boy who would never let his passion die thats why he is so successful

Every time I thought that he was at his peak, Cristiano proved me wrong moving to the La Liga and directly competing with Messi truly motivated him to work hard and always get better. Ironically, Rooney, although still having an overall great career for his achievements and contributions to Manchester United, never reached the same heights as Cristiano ,if anything he peaked too early and started to show several signs of decline in his gameplay within the last 2–3 years, while CR7 still managed to effectively boss games and score tons of decisive goals despite losing a bit of the pace and speed that he was well-known for early in his career.

For that alone, I have nothing but admiration and massive respect for Cristiano he is a true model professional not just for aspiring footballers but also for anyone out there willing to be successful in life regardless of his or her career choice

really good post and I agree

I do think that looking back Rooney perhaps should have moved in 2013 when he wanted to.

At that point he would have easily secured a move to a massive club and that would have reignited his hunger.

He signed a big new contract a few months later under Moyes but was never the same


He seemed just bored and demotivated in last few years.

Ofcourse 4 managers in 5 years doesnt help.

But more than that Im sure it was a huge demotivation factor to step down from having teammates such as Ferdinand, Vidic, peak Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo and a still-good Nani to then being stuck with Ashley Young, Jonny Evans, Fellaini and co.

 

[big_gamer007]

I remember that so well.

However Rooney's first few games for United were better than Ronaldo's

Uptill 2005-06 season end, Rooney was more effective than Ronaldo and more of a complete product

However Ronaldo just skyrocketed in 2006-07 season onwards

I still think the Ronaldo till 2007 was perhaps better than the one over last 5 years despite all the goals

Now he is more of a sharpshooter looking for gooals

Back then he used to a lot more work

Rooney was great for a few seasons but everyone knew he did not have potential/talent which ronaldo had.. I knew when Rooney first burst into the scene he would never be once in a generation player but when I and many others saw ronaldo we knew he had potential/talent to be that player and through his hard work he achieved it.. Rooney did great for himself and United no doubt and he's one of my favourite players but he did not talent like ronaldo or messi so can't be compared to these two players..

 

[MMHS]

Sadly both first were identified/targeted by Liverpool (Hullier), but none came. Rooney was a boy the wonder at Everton academy (which is performing much better than ours), and he was destined to become an English great. Hullier was interested to give him 1st pro contract at Liverpool, but, being life long Everton fan, he was never going to come to Anfield, ended up going to MU.

I forget the source now, but it explained how we missed CR. He was first identified by Hullier as 16 years old kid playing for Sporting Lisbon nutmeging defenders starting career before his birth, but Hullier couldn't bring him for the wage demand, under LFC's salary cap. In fact, Hullier was ready to break the wage cap, but he was forced to quit, because of a possible dissatisfaction in his dressing room. Later, Sir Alex did the same (broke wage cap) to bring him, on his own risk - a risk worthy enough to be proved later.

Wiki writes -

Over the course of the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to discuss a possible transfer.

Ronaldo came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in August 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. His performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him. Ferguson himself considered the 18-year-old "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.

 

[Slog]

Ronaldo came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in August 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. His performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him. Ferguson himself considered the 18-year-old "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.

This is an often quoted story but actually is false

The Ronaldo to United deal had already been agreed in principle before the pre-season game.

Infact one of the reasons United played that opening game at the new stadium was in lieu of that pending deal - a sweetener of sorts

What did happen was this his performance expedited the deal. The initial plan had been for him to be signed but to make him stay on at Sporting for one more year on loan. However the way United players raved about him led to him being signed immediately.

 

[MMHS]

This is an often quoted story but actually is false

The Ronaldo to United deal had already been agreed in principle before the pre-season game.

Infact one of the reasons United played that opening game at the new stadium was in lieu of that pending deal - a sweetener of sorts

What did happen was this his performance expedited the deal. The initial plan had been for him to be signed but to make him stay on at Sporting for one more year on loan. However the way United players raved about him led to him being signed immediately.

May be, I was quoting from Wiki, which isn't a reliable source. But, one thing for sure that Hullier was priced out by SAF.

 

[DeadBall]

Even though I don't like Ronaldo anymore (Did like him before though) and I actually was seriously into football at the time, I would say Ronaldo comfortably as he was more of an "allrounder" and blessed in all facets of the game when compared to Rooney who was more of a striker and finisher.

 

[Hasan123]

Ronaldo of course.

 

[kingusama92]

There was a brief period in 2004/05 when Rooney would have won most votes but it was always a matter of time based on potential.

Ronaldo was simply adapting to English football.