Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up about his relationship with former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney and addressed criticism over his decision to skip the funeral of Portugal forward Diogo Jota.

In the second part of his interview with Piers Morgan, released on November 6, Cristiano Ronaldo responded to Rooney’s recent remarks about who was the greater player between him and Lionel Messi. Rooney had said he didn’t hate Ronaldo as much as people think, calling him “a genius” and “not that difficult to get along with,” but still rated Messi higher.

Ronaldo took the comments calmly, saying he had no issue with Rooney’s opinion. “Whatever he says, it doesn’t matter,” Ronaldo told Morgan. “Seriously, I can accept his opinion; I have no problem with it. It’s his freedom to express himself.”

Reflecting on their time together at Manchester United, Ronaldo described their relationship as one based on mutual respect rather than close friendship. “When we played together, we had a good relationship, but not the kind of friendship where I’d invite him over for lunch or dinner,” he said.

“My good relationship with Rooney is purely about football. For me, the word ‘friend’ carries a lot of weight. I don’t easily call a player ‘my friend.’ I’m a very social person, but many relationships end with respect, including my relationship with Rooney.”

He continued, “Now I respect him even more because of his outstanding contributions to Manchester United; we won many things together. Whether he says I’m a genius or that Messi is better than me, it’s not a problem. If we meet again, I will shake his hand and hug him. I have never been his enemy. I respect everyone.”

The Al-Nassr captain also spoke about the backlash he faced for not attending Jota’s funeral after the Liverpool forward and his brother, Andre Silva, died in a car crash in July.

“There are two things,” Ronaldo explained. “People criticise me a lot and I don’t care about that because when you feel your conscience is good, you don’t need to worry about what people say. One of the things I don’t do after my father died is go to a cemetery. Secondly, you know me and my reputation; wherever I go, it’s a circus. I didn’t go to [Jota’s funeral] because the attention would be on me and I don’t want that.

“People can continue to criticise me, but I felt good with my decision.”

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