Giroud warns Rooney to expect Ronaldo text after 'raging' World Cup remark

Wayne Rooney has been warned by Olivier Giroud to expect a text from Cristiano Ronaldo after the former England captain claimed the Portugal star would be furious watching his rivals light up the opening round of World Cup matches.

Rooney, speaking as a pundit ahead of Portugal’s opening fixture against DR Congo, said Ronaldo would have been “raging” after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland each scored twice and Lionel Messi delivered a hat-trick in the tournament’s early games. “He’ll have been raging,” Rooney said, drawing laughter in the studio. “In a good way.”

Giroud, the 2018 World Cup winner, was quick to interject. “You’re going to receive a text, Wayne, be careful,” he said.

Rooney was unperturbed, framing Ronaldo’s competitive fury as the engine behind his longevity. “That’s how he’s pushed himself — that’s his mentality. Everything is a challenge to him. Over the years, him and Messi have pushed each other to reach these levels. He’ll want to win firstly for Portugal to win the World Cup, but he’ll want to be the top goalscorer.”

“When he sees other players scoring goals, he wants to be the best. That’s not in a bad way. He’ll want to score two and score three tonight to show he’s still at that level.”

Ronaldo, 41, made history by becoming the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match when he led Portugal out against DR Congo. The record underlines just how extraordinary his career has been — and, if Rooney’s reading of his former Manchester United team-mate is correct, Ronaldo himself will view it as motivation rather than sentiment.