Wayne Rooney Responds to Cristiano's 'jealous' Jibe with Cheeky Messi Claim

• Rooney laughed off Cristiano Ronaldo’s claim that he was jealous of him
• The former England striker said there was no player, except Messi, who is not jealous of Cristiano’s success
• Rooney and Ronaldo enjoyed a successful spell at Manchester United from 2004 to 2009, but the Derby boss says his former teammate is a shadow of his former self

Wayne Rooney has responded to Cristiano Ronaldo’s comment that he is ‘jealous’ of the Portugal superstar.

The two former teammates have been going back and forth with each other in recent days, and it all started when Rooney made some interesting comments while on punditry duty.

Rooney, who is Manchester United’s all-time goalscorer, claimed on Monday that Ronaldo ‘was not the player he was in his twenties’ and despite the hype surrounding his summer move back to Old Trafford, Manchester United should cut their losses and ship out the 37-year old.

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According to Rooney, United needed to focus more on rebuilding with younger players who are ‘more hungry’.

This prompted Cristiano Ronaldo to issue a cheeky response on Instagram, as he commented on a photo of Rooney alongside Jamie Carragher saying “Two jealous”.

Rooney’s rejoinder

While speaking at a press conference ahead of Derby County’s next game, Rooney was made aware of Cristiano’s ‘jealous’ comment.

And the former United striker reacted by saying there was not a single player in the world who was not jealous of Ronaldo’s success as a football player.

Well, except for Lionel Messi, according to Rooney.

"I saw that this morning.

“I’d say there’s probably not a footballer on the planet who isn’t jealous of Cristiano.

“The career he’s had, the trophies he’s won, the money he’s earned… his six pack! Every player bar Lionel Messi is jealous of Cristiano.”

Despite his advanced age, Cristiano is Manchester United’s top scorer this season, and has netted 12 times in 24 Premier League games so far.

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He will most likely return to the starting lineup this week for the clash against Everton, after missing the 1-1 draw against Leicester through illness.

Cristiano on his future

Recently, Cristiano Ronaldo provided a hint on his future at Manchester United.

The Portuguese appeared to have put that to rest after disclosing that he "feels happy and motivated" with the Red Devils.

"I feel so happy and motivated for the rest of the season," Ronaldo said.

"I will do my best, like all the time - so thank you to them (who voted for me) and see you soon at Old Trafford," he added.