Wayne Rooney has surprisingly ignored former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo when naming his favourite career strike partner.

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Rooney makes shock Ronaldo omissionNames favourite strike partnerDifferent Man Utd team-mate preferredFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Rooney and Ronaldo teamed up together for five years at Manchester United, but the club's all-time leading goalscorer has instead named Carlos Tevez as his favoured partner. Tevez played alongside the former England captain for two years between 2007 and 2009, with United winning the Premier League title in both seasons.

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Rooney told : "When Carlos joined Manchester United, there was a lot of talk about whether Carlos and I could play up front together. We were similar in ways how we played – both worked hard and could both play as a nine, both play off the forward as well. We had a really good understanding and chemistry on the pitch, off the pitch. I think Carlos was my favourite strike partner to play alongside."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

United also won the Champions League during Tevez's first campaign at the club, before losing the 2008-09 final to Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Tevez scored 34 goals for the club during his successful spell with the club, which was defined by Ronaldo but underpinned by the Argentine and Rooney.

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Tevez has embarked on a coaching career since retiring from playing, taking charge of Rosario Central and Independiente. Most recently, he scored four goals in the World XI's Soccer Aid 2025 victory.