Rooney hoping Ronaldo suffers World Cup heartbreak

England striker Wayne Rooney has said he hopes former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo misses out on World Cup qualification with Portugal.

One of the abiding memories of the 2006 World Cup in Germany was Ronaldo, now playing for Real Madrid, winking as Rooney was red-carded for kicking out at Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho in the quarter-finals.

England went on to lose the game on penalties and Rooney and Ronaldo rediscovered their friendship back at Manchester United, but that did not stop the former wishing not to see Portugal in South Africa next year.

“It would be nice to see Portugal not there because they have knocked us out of the last two tournaments,” said Rooney.

“Obviously when we didn’t qualify for Euro 2008, we got a lot of stick. You have banter with your team-mates.

“But it’s important not to go too far because it is an important issue and, to be honest, I am not too bothered whether they are there or not.”

Rooney also acknowledged that his former club mate remained the number one player in the world.

“It is clear for everyone,” said Rooney. “Ronaldo is definitely the best player.

“He scores goals and I have watched his first few games for Madrid and he seems to have improved again. He is even passing the ball a lot more!

“At United, people said he didn’t run back. But look at what he did going forward.

“As a team we realised that if he was as good as that going forward, we had to make up for it by going back. That is what happened and we were very successful, so you can’t argue.”

But it is Rooney at the head of the World Cup goalscoring charts in Europe, and the 24-year-old striker wants more.

“I hope I can take my game to the next level as well,” he said.

“Physically, Ronaldo improved a lot over the last three years. He worked hard in the gym and got a lot tougher.

“I am still trying to improve most areas of my game, especially my link-up play, goalscoring and heading. I should score more often with my head.”