Manchester United Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo Hints at Wayne Rooney Reunion

Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped a hint he could be reunited with Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney before too long during a BBC documentary interview with presenter Gary Lineker.

The mercurial forward has been heavily linked with a return to Old Trafford more or less since departing for the Bernabeu in 2009, as reported in Sport back in May (via Metro), and his latest comments have only added fuel to the fire.

Paul White/Associated Press

As reported by the Sun (via ESPN FC), Ronaldo told Lineker he’d love to play with Rooney once again while singing the Englishman’s praises:

"

I miss playing with Rooney. Maybe we will play together again one day. He was the kid of England. Everyone loved him. He was so powerful I was calling him 'Pitbull.' The power of Wayne Rooney is his mentality and strength and he never stops. He's a fantastic team player and he scores. He's a fantastic boy, and he helped me a lot when he came to join us in Manchester.

"

JON SUPER/Associated Press

Rooney’s ability may well have come under the spotlight in recent months, but there’s no denying just how lethal a duo they were during their time together at United.

Their link-up play was almost telepathic at times, catching teams off guard with impeccable counter-attacking football.

Ronaldo’s goal against Arsenal in the semi-finals of the 2008/09 Champions League summed up just how lethal they could be, as the Portuguese star rounded off a flowing Manchester United move.

JON SUPER/Associated Press

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the pair, though, after Ronaldo became the fall guy for Rooney’s dismissal in the World Cup 2006 quarter-final tie between England and Portugal.

The British press branded Ronaldo a villain for winking at his former club team-mate left the field, but the man himself insists he wasn’t in the wrong and that him and Rooney remained good friends:

"

I don't regret what I did because when you play for your country, you defend your colours so...I didn't do anything bad. He understood my point of view. Let's speak about the present, let's win trophies, let's play together like we did. We were still friends. People create big dramas that never exist.

"

PAULO DUARTE/Associated Press

People do indeed create dramas that don't exist, but is Ronaldo’s potential return to Manchester United one of said non-existent dramas?

Well, journalist Guillem Balague recently told Sky Sports in a question-and-answer session that Ronaldo dreams of a return to United. Sport, meanwhile, reported that the 30-year-old’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is trying to negotiate a move away from the Bernabeu (via Will Giles of Metro).

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

United will likely have to splash an incredible amount of cash to get their former favourite son back in red anytime soon, yet his apparent open attitude to a return will fill fans with optimism.

Would Ronaldo and Rooney be the same force together as they were seven years ago? Probably not, but seeing the pair linking up again truly is a mouth-watering prospect.