It's August 23, 2025, 09:17:31 PM
No pre-match wind-up says Rooney Wayne Rooney has insisted Cristiano Ronaldo did not try to wind him up in the tunnel before England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal. In the game Rooney was sent off after stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. In his new book, being serialised in the Mail on Sunday, Rooney revealed: "In the tunnel, we wished each other good luck in the game. "Then he asked me if I'd heard where Quinton Fortune was going? Neither us knew the latest. So that was it." Fortune, Ronaldo and Rooney are team-mates at Manchester United, although South African Fortune is close to sealing a move to Premiership rivals side Bolton. Ronaldo was blamed in some quarters for helping to get Rooney a red card because of his reaction to the Carvalho incident. He rushed up to the referee and was then pushed by Rooney, but the Englishman is keen to stress there was no suggestion of any niggle between the two in the build-up to the game. "We said good luck to each other, once more. And then the game began," added Rooney. Rooney also said he was "a bit sad" to see the end of Sven Goran-Eriksson's reign as England boss. "I think he was forced out by the press. They backed him into the corner. I always found him a very clever man and a good manager," said Rooney. "They said he wasn't emotional enough and it's true I never saw him lose his temper or shout. But I think he was emotional, deep down. He did care. "With him, it was always inside his body. I always liked his style, his calm manner. "He did do his homework and prepared well, got his points across clearly. "Most of all, he always trusted the players 100%. I like a manager who does that, who doesn't treat us like kids."
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