Cristiano Ronaldo has voiced his support for his former team-mate Wayne Rooney.
The Real Madrid forward, who left Manchester United for the Spanish side in 2009 for a record £80million, insists it will not be long until the striker starts scoring regularly once more.
“Wayne has not started this season very well but he is still a fantastic player and I know that very soon he will be back to show that,” Ronaldo told the Sun.
“He has made his decision to stay with United and sign a new contract and we must all respect that. It’s not my position to give him advice on that. But I know that things can change very quickly indeed.
“I didn’t start this season very well, either. But it is difficult to play at the highest level all the time. I just stayed calm, worked hard and did my job for the team and suddenly I scored a few goals and everything changed.”
Sir Alex Ferguson brought Ronaldo to England in 2003 and the former Sporting Lisbon winger is backing one of the “best managers in the world” to ensure United side compete for silverware this term.
“For five years I enjoyed working with Sir Alex Ferguson,” he said. “I always had a good relationship with him and now I think of him as my friend as well as a great manager.
He added: “For me Ferguson and Mourinho are the best managers in the world. One is young and one is older. But they have both won everything in football.”