Cristiano Ronaldo slams 'jealous' Carragher and Rooney

Cristiano Ronaldo may be one of the best football players who ever lived, but he is also one who receives a mountain of criticism on a regular basis. As he has proven many times in the past, he pays attention to the barbs that are thrown in his direction. This time, he did not hesitate to hit back at former footballers Wayne Rooney and Jamie Carragher, who had been critical of his recent performances.

On Monday, Rooney and Carragher appeared on the Sky Sports programme "Monday Night Football" to discuss the Premier League action from the weekend. In particular, they discussed Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Leicester City. The former Manchester United player was not impressed by the Portuguese star and made his feelings known.

"He's making progress, but he's not the player he was when he was 20. That happens. He's a goalscoring threat, but I think the rest of the game needs more," said Rooney, while also stating that the Red Devils would be better off sending Ronaldo packing along with Paul Pogba.

"If you look to the future, I think you have to go with younger, hungrier players to do everything possible to lift Manchester United in the next two or three years," he said, as quoted by Marca.

Rooney proceeded to take a dig at Ronaldo's age, saying: "They need young, hungry players. I think they have good players. I think [Jadon] Sancho will be better next year, I think Marcus [Rashford] will be better next year."

After the guest appearance, Rooney shared a photo from the set with Carragher and host David Jones. Ronaldo then used his official Instagram account to comment "Two jealous" apparently aimed at the two former players.

The comment was brought to Rooney's attention, and he casually responded by saying "there's probably not a football player in the planet who isn't jealous of Cristiano. The career he's had, the trophies he's won, the money he's earned, his six-pack, his body. I think every player, bar probably Lionel Messi, is jealous of Cristiano."