Ronaldo and Rooney reunited

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Cristiano Ronaldo was reunited with Wayne Rooney at Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Monday.

It is the first timeboth have have met in a professional setting since their clash during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal when Rooney was controversially sent off.

England legend Alan Shearer andcurrent international Frank Lampard, believe Ronaldo was out of order by seemingly leading the clamour for Rooney's dismissal.

However, it appears Rooney has already forgiven his young team-mate after initially suggesting he was 'disappointed' Ronaldo got involved in the fracas after the 20-year-old was ruled to have stamped on Ricardo Carvalho.

Ronaldo avoided the media scrum awaiting his arrival by driving into the training ground via a back entrance, linking up with the majority of United's senior squad for a planned afternoon session from which Rooney has presumably been excused given the 45-minute outing he will make along with Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar at Macclesfield.

Although Ronaldo twice claimed during the World Cup that he wanted to move to Real Madrid, United were quick to quash any suggestion the 21-year-old will be allowed to leave having only just signed a contract which is due to keep him at Old Trafford until 2010.

Instead, Ronaldo will be forced to face down the Premiership boo-boys looking to make him a scapegoat for England's World Cup demise.

It is anticipated the former Sporting Lisbon star will make his first appearance of the Red Devils' pre-season campaign in Amsterdam this weekend.

He could also play at Oxford on August 8 and against Seville at Old Trafford five days later before United open their Premiership programme against Fulham on August 20.

[Come on, the press likes to exaggate and imagine anything. Anything it wants to post in the newspaper. Did it actually hear Rooney said he has forgiven Cristiano? It has assumed that Cristiano is guilty. It's unfair to Cristiano. ]