Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney have been urged to step into the ring (Picture: Getty)
Deontay Wilder’s former boxing coach has told Wayne Rooney that a fight with his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo would be a ‘global event’.
Rooney and Ronaldo played football together for Manchester United but Malik Scott would love to see the two men step into the ring for a bout.
Ronaldo, 40, is still playing for Saudi side Al-Nassr while Rooney, 39, has hung up his boots and is working as a pundit after a spell in management.
Rooney is known to be a huge boxing fan and the same is true for Ronaldo, who admitted in 2020 he’d rather watch combat sports than football on TV.
Celebrity boxing events have been gathering a lot of attention over the last few years and Scott feels Rooney vs Ronaldo would be great for the sport.
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‘Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Wayne Rooney would bring more eyes to boxing, and I’m all for it,’ Wilder’s former boxing coach Scott told CanadaCasino.
‘Any time boxing gets more attention, it’s a good thing. I want people to enjoy the spectacle, not just critique it.
Manchester United v Inter Milan
Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were Man Utd teammates (Picture: Getty)
‘Just enjoy the carnival. It would be a global event because these are high-level names that would draw huge numbers.’
Rooney and Ronaldo famously clashed during the World Cup in 2006, when the latter player was accused of influencing Rooney’s red card during a quarter-final tie against England that was eventually won on penalties by Portugal.
But Rooney recently held out an olive branch to Ronaldo after years of verbal sparring between the former teammates.
England V Portugal, FIFA World Cup Finals 2006 Quarter Final
Wayne Rooney has played down talk of ‘hating’ Cristiano Ronaldo (Picture: Getty)
‘People think I hate him (Ronaldo),’ Rooney said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast earlier this week.
‘I love him. I think he’s an absolute genius and what he’s doing is incredible.
‘I love Cristiano and playing with him. I don’t think people realise actually how close me and him were.
‘I think just because I’ve said that I think [Lionel] Messi is better than Ronaldo, people think I don’t like Cristiano.
‘I absolutely love Messi, love watching him play and that was the only reason because I think Messi had a little bit more in terms of how he played and taking players on and whatever.
‘Ronaldo’s a killer and people think because I’ve said Messi is better than Ronaldo, I don’t like him or speak down on him.’
Ronaldo and Rooney played together at United for five years between 2004 and 2009, helping Sir Alex Ferguson’s team to three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy.
Meanwhile, Rooney was recently called out for a boxing match by former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.
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