Ronaldo’s performances have shifted the Old Trafford spotlight away from Rooney, who went 10 games without a goal earlier in the season.

However, the England striker insists he does not care who takes the plaudits – he just relishes the chance to play alongside Ronaldo.

“I’m just delighted that he’s playing for us because at this moment in time he is the best player in the world – not just the best young player, but the best player full stop,” Rooney said in an interview to be published in full in tomorrow’s edition of Sport magazine.

“There’s certainly no jealousy on my part over that. You want to play with the best players, and it’s great to be in the same team as Cristiano.”

Ronaldo endured a torrid time from Premiership crowds after his role in the incident which saw Rooney sent off in England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Portugal.

The infamous wink towards manager Luiz Felipe Scolari after Rooney had been given his marching orders sparked a media storm and at one stage his United future looked in doubt.

However, Ferguson always insisted Ronaldo would not be leaving United – a stance he has firmed during the season following intense speculation that both Real Madrid and Barcelona were circling.

Rooney said at the time he was “disappointed” by Ronaldo’s actions but he was quick to add there was no lasting bad blood between them.

And Rooney has been particularly impressed with the way Ronaldo handled the pressure.

“He’s been brilliant, especially coming back from the World Cup when it was very difficult for him with all the media attention,” Rooney said.

“But he’s come through that and he’s been absolutely fantastic this season. Hopefully that will continue, and he’ll hopefully help us bring back some silverware this season.”

Rooney knows exactly what it is like to live with negative criticism. The 21-year-old has grown up and made his mistakes in full view of the public eye.

He explains: “I think people tend to forget that when I first came on to the scene at Everton, I was still just a young lad – I was only 16.

“It took time to learn the game and to take in everything that goes along with it, dealing with the media and the expectation and all that.

“It is difficult and you can lose it sometimes, but the calmness comes with experience.”

Rooney believes that experience, and calm advice from Ferguson, helped him get through that barren patch earlier in the season.

“I didn’t let it get me down. I look back on those 10 games and there were times when the keepers would make brilliant saves to deny me, or I’d get myself in great positions and it just wouldn’t come off,” said Rooney.

“(Ferguson) just told me to keep playing and keep it simple, and that the goals would come soon enough. He wasn’t concerned about it at all.

“It would have been worse if we weren’t winning games – I think we went through those 10 games without getting beaten.

“That was the main thing, that other players were weighing in with their own goals and we were winning the games. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t scoring.

“It’s brilliant to score goals, though, and I was happy to see that first one go in at Bolton – if only to shut a few of the newspapers and the so-called experts up.

“I know my game’s not all about goals, which is all that matters.

“I like to create goals as much as I like to score them and I’d happily go through the whole season without a single goal if it meant us winning the league.”