WHEN Wayne Rooney joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United there was only one player who was going to become THE world starWhile the jury was still out on the gangly step-over king from Portugal, Rooney was the real deal.

Fast forward to today. While Ronaldo regularly challenges Lionel Messi for the crown of the world’s greatest player, Rooney does not.

Ronaldo has now scored almost as many goals for Madrid in four seasons (185) as Rooney has in nine for United (194).

Take the very highest level in club football. While Rooney has 27 in the Champions League, Ronaldo has an astonishing 45. For many people, he has simply accelerated away on to a different level.

Yet take United’s 1-1 draw in Madrid as one example and you perhaps start to see a different picture.

While Ronaldo was allowed to roam free, Rooney was given a specific role.

He has long since stopped being the man on the shoulder of the last defender, the fulcrum of all striking options. Rooney’s versatility means he is here, there and everywhere, depending on the opposition and situation.

So while Ronaldo was causing menace in the box, Rooney was operating in a right-midfield role, often dropping deep and trying to help his defence to counter the effectiveness of Real going forward.

It was a role he also played to great effect in the 2008 semi-final of the Champions League against Barcelona, when his side got a crucial goalless draw in the Nou Camp — a night Ronaldo missed a penalty by the way.

Indeed, in the last two seasons of Ronaldo’s career at Old Trafford, it was Rooney who was willing to make way for a player who was emerging as one of the greatest attacking forces.

Rooney was happy to go wide, deep, off the frontman, act as a wing-back... whatever the manager wanted. After the game in Madrid, one article said Rooney had now simply turned into a workhorse. But what manager would not want a player with that versatility?

Take note of his display on Saturday against Norwich, in which he was happy to feed Shinji Kagawa for two of his three goals before a wonderful strike of his own.

He is someone Alex Ferguson can ask to perform any role, safe in the knowledge that, first, the player will not moan about it, but secondly he will do it and do it well.

Maybe we have seen the very best of him at 27. Maybe, like Ronaldo and Messi, he will never stamp his mark on a major tournament for his country.

But also, looking back, maybe United would never have achieved much of what they have over the last decade without Rooney.

In that sense, he is a player who has made a difference — and still does.

Last season, when United lost the title on goal difference, Rooney enjoyed his best season in front of goal, scoring 34 — the same he had got two seasons previously.

But the team finished empty-handed. So boss Ferguson went out and got an even better goalscorer and asked Rooney to adapt to the new arrival.

This he has done. While he no longer gets the headlines Robin van Persie does, while Ronaldo’s performances may have overshadowed him of late, do not underestimate Rooney.

Nobody in their ranks can still match his passing accuracy, his vision, movement, workrate and downright selflessness for the cause.

Perhaps that means he is not always in the spotlight but he still does a job and has the same hunger.

Some believe he does not make the difference any more in big games.

But had he not played in the Bernabeu, Real Madrid would have had more of the ball and, with it, possibly got a more positive result.

So we come to tomorrow night at Old Trafford and what an occasion it will be. I know I’m not popular there, so I will not be losing any support when I say Real will edge it.

I can see them going through on away goals after a 2-2 draw.

In the Prem you can make a mistake and recover. In this competition, one moment can make the difference.

That is why I fear United may end up looking back on that missed chance by Van Persie in the Bernabeu as a crucial moment.

Ronaldo will shine on his return, I have no doubt. Rooney may be in his shadow again, but his role will be equally as crucial — and that should not be forgotten.

Rooney is a great player but does he consistently score 40+ goals a season? The Ronney of a few seasons ago could have been a match for them but now he's dropped his game. 

Great article. Rooney is so underrated, mainly because everyone outside of England still think he's a striker, when he's not.

He's a play-maker that scores 34 goals a season. I don't see anyone leaving Iniesta out in the cold, despite not scoring 40+ goals a season. He hasn't dropped his game at all; he simply doesn't play where he used to.

Not to be off-topic, but am I theonly one who thinks Messi would not have 60+ goals if he was in the EPL. Same can be said about Ronaldo.

@Lodatz : completely agree with you .... I observed Rooney's playmaking capabilities this season only when RVP is been  playing as a striker for Man Utd. He has adopted more of a supporting striker cum attacking mid (I saw him playing positions where Ozil plays for Madrid ) role this season .... He is a part of many great moves by the team where RVP eventually scores.

@Vendetta: absolutely true.

raimondo90  Is Always hating. It's like he's stuck in a zone.

Dat copy and paste.

People are saying he is playmaker & goal scorer... but so are Messi & Ronaldo..

UHB how am I hating? I'm just pointing out the Rooney of two seasons ago was twice the player he is now. He is still good, obviously, I mean look at the goal he scored vs Norwich. 

14 goals and 12 assists, in a team that has won all but 5 games in the league this season?

Hehe, I understand where you're coming from, raimondo, but I think it's a little harsh to say he's declined. He just doesn't have to be the main goal threat any more, since RVP arrived.

@Lodatz well that's the thing, Rooney is known for being a top class striker bagging in goals. Not being a playmaker. If someone arrived in Barcelona and that player bagged all the goals instead of Messi people would claim he's not the best anymore. 

Well, that's what I'm saying. He hasn't been an out-and-out striker for many years. He's just 'known for' being one, outside of England, because that's what he started as. Sort of how some people inexplicably still think that Bale is a left-back.

He's been the offensive play-maker for a long time, because of Ronaldo's rise in the team, and only went back to a CF after Ronnie left, and until SAF groomed Chicharito and Welbeck to be the striker partnership. 

Do you see what I mean? He's much more like Man Utd's Iniesta than their Messi.

Anyways, I'm not trying to start an argument with you. :) I just think he's underrated precisely because a lot of people don't realize what it is that he does, thinking he's played as a striker because that's what he started as, back in 2004.

raimondo90  Yeah but you always have something negative to say about Manchester United. ALWAYS!!

Not at all, I actually watched them when they went on tour to USA last year. Saw them vs Chicago Fire and Barcelona. They were great. I normaly just point out what is true and try to keep it unbaised.

rooney is underrated he scores goals and assists and iniesta just makes assists

Iniesta does more things in a game from just giving assists..

But it's not about the GIVING assist or scoring goals, it's that this player can win the game. That Mean he's the one who is responsible for it. When Real loose and Ronaldo not score they are going to troll Ronaldo. That's same with Barcelona. But You can't say that about Rooney.

You can't compare Iniesta  and Rooney. Two way different players.

Rooney is so underrated - simple as that. Like LOdatz said, people from outside the league judges him by his official position (striker), which is fair enough. For the past few seasons now, Rooney has turned more of an all-round player. I wouldn't say he's the best at defending, but he literally runs all over the field to make sure that our game flow is going exceptionally well. The reasons why we're so good is because of his contribution to the game, which is why I rate him much more highly than RVP. The only thing that is keeping him down is his fitness, but other than that, Rooney's the perfect player IMO.

@raimondo, sure he might not be able to score +40 goals in a season, but we're talking about the Premier league here, not La Liga.

Guys please don't start the EPL vs. La Liga debate again. According to UEFA's rankings, the EPL has a ranking of 84.4 and La Liga has a rating of 84.1, with the next league being the Bundesliga at 75.1, so you can clearly see the in terms of competitiveness, La Liga and the EPL are basically identical.