Manchester United legend is slowly preparing to become future manager at Old Trafford

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo formed a world-class partnership for Manchester United in the 2007/2008 season.

The pair contributed 60 goals and 22 assists between them and Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or at the end of that campaign, but the Portuguese international wouldn't stay at Old Trafford for much longer and left for Real Madrid a year later.

Rooney and Ronaldo went their separate ways and their eventual paths couldn't have been more different, as one player retired from playing in 2021 while the other is still competing in Saudi Arabia at the age of 38 years old.

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Ronaldo is eight months older than Rooney, but it's the younger of the pair that's already moved into management. The 37-year-old is the current manager of D.C. United and his time in America came after an almost two-year spell with Derby County

Rooney played for Everton, D.C. United and Derby after leaving United in 2017 and he became player-manager of the Rams in December 2020 with the club at the bottom of the Championship table and struggling financially.

Against the odds, Derby eventually survived relegation by the skin of their teeth, but Rooney was lauded for taking on such a challenge and galvanising a squad that looked destined for the drop before he took charge.

In the 2021/22 season after that, he was forced to extinguish fires at Pride Park as Derby had entered administration. The club had been given a 21-point deduction and that was ultimately a penalty too great to contend with.

Although taking the club down, Rooney still won admirers that season because his team finished just seven points adrift from safety, which meant they would have comfortably stayed up