Wayne Rooney makes Cristiano Ronaldo feelings clear after stinging Man United response

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Wayne Rooney appears to have liked an Instagram post from former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portugal icon turns 40.

The two enjoyed success at Old Trafford under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson during the golden era at the Theatre of Dreams before the partnership ended in 2009, when Ronaldo made the then-world record move to Real Madrid. Their relationship had its ups and downs at United, as well as on the international stage, when Ronaldo clashed with his clubmate during the 2006 World Cup after Rooney was sent off for England after a stamp on Riccardo Carvalho.

The feud, seemingly, reignited when the 40-year-old took aim at the former Everton striker for his comments during his United struggles under Erik ten Hag. But it appears that the hatchet may have been buried with Rooney liking Ronaldo's Instagram post as the six-time Ballon d'Or winner celebrates a landmark birthday.

In his update for supporters, Ronaldo wrote: "Last cryosport before 40," smiling with his thumbs up ahead of Al-Nassr's clash with Al-Fayha on Friday in a post which was liked by his ex-teammate. Rooney, who was last in charge of Plymouth Argyle before he was sacked in December after seven months, was reportedly bemused by digs that were aimed at him Ronaldo, according to Sky Sports.

Issues seemingly resurfaced after Rooney warned that Ronaldo was becoming an unwanted distraction at Old Trafford. He said: "No, I don't think so. Him and Messi are arguably the two best players of all time and you can go either way with that, whatever way you decide.

"But I just think the things he has done from the start of the season; it is not acceptable for Manchester United. I've seen Roy Keane defending him. Roy wouldn't accept that. Roy wouldn't accept that at all. It is a distraction which Manchester United don't need at the minute, when they are trying to rebuild.

"For Cristiano, just get your head down and work and be ready to play when the manager needs you. If he does that, he will be an asset. If he doesn't, it will become an unwanted distraction."

Ronaldo responded: "I don't understand, you should ask this question to him. I don't know why he criticised me so bad.

"One year ago or six months ago, he was in my house and he picked up his kids and asked Cristiano [his son] if he wanted to play football. I don't understand people like that, maybe they want to be front page of the news or they want jobs.

"Probably, because he finished his career in his 30s," he added on whether there is jealousy from his former teammate. "I'm still playing at a high level, I'm not going to say that I'm looking better than him, which is true. It's hard to listen to that kind of criticism and negativity from people who played with you, for example Gary Neville as well.

"People can have their own opinion but they don't really know what's going on inside the training ground at Carrington or even my life. They should listen to not only one point of view, they have to listen to my point of view as well. It's easy to criticise but if you don't know the whole story, it's easy.

"They are not my friends, they are colleagues. We played together but we're not having dinner together. It's part of my journey, they keep criticising me with negativity every time. I can continue my trip and I have to catch up with people who like me.

"It's easy to criticise, I don't know if they have a job in television that they must criticise to be more famous. I really don't understand it. I think they take advantage of [my name] because they are not stupid.

"I have to carry on my life with criticism. It's hard when you see people who were in the dressing room with you criticise in that way. I'm not going to sleep badly because of the criticism but it's not good to listen to that."

During his time in England, Ronaldo famously snubbed former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher following criticism as they built up coverage of United's showdown with their Merseyside rivals.

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