Wayne Rooney

Following Cristiano Ronaldo's criticism of Wayne Rooney, the former Manchester United striker has provided Cristiano Ronaldo with a second response. Rooney was Ronaldo's former teammate at Manchester United.

On Thursday night, the second and final segment of Ronaldo's interview with Piers Morgan was broadcast on television. Even though the United forward is out of things to say at this point, there is no doubt that the impact of his comments will be felt for a considerable amount of time.

During his interview, the 37-year-old player took aim at a number of his former teammates, including Wayne Rooney, whom he believed to be an MLS coach who was envious of the player's lengthy career in the sport. Among the other targets, the player took aim at some of his former teammates.

Ronaldo said: "to sit back and take criticism from former coworkers or teammates, knowing full well that they can only see things from their own perspective. It's not hard to find something to criticize, but I don't know if you have a job in television where people feel they need to criticize you in order to become more famous. It is completely beyond my comprehension.

"It's tough when people who were in the same changing room with you criticize you in such a way. They are not idiots, and I believe that is why they take advantage of situations like that. I'm the guy with the most followers in the whole wide world. This is not a case of mere coincidence.

"I, too, am shocked by this development. Piers, I don't understand. You ought to address your inquiries to Rooney directly. I really have no idea. I have no idea why he was so harsh in his criticism of me. Probably [jealously]. Probably due to the fact that he retired in his 30s rather than continuing his career. I'm still performing at a high level, but I'm not going to brag about how much better I look than he is, even though that's the case."

Rooney recently admitted that he wishes his former teammate the best of luck in the World Cup, stating that it would be a "fitting end" to his career. And now the head coach of D.C. United has provided a direct response to the remarks made by United's No. 7 in the interview.

Speaking to CNN, Rooney said: "He's got a lot of talent as a player. It's likely that he and [Lionel] Messi are the two best players who have ever played the game. It's not a criticism; what I'm saying is that getting older is something that happens to all of us, and Cristiano is having a hard time coping with it.

"He gave an interview, and now it's all over the world; some of the comments are a little strange, but I'm sure Manchester United will deal with it once they see the full interview, and they'll take whatever action is necessary to deal with it."