Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has spoken about the way his 2006 World Cup red card brought him and Cristiano Ronaldo closer together.

The two were involved in a heated moment during an England v Portugal clash that saw Rooney get his marching orders.

That quarter final threatened to blow up Sir Alex Ferguson's last great United team.

But the two patched things up in the fall and went on to win nearly everything in the club game in the subsequent three years.

"I had my phone in my hand and I was getting all these messages about Ronaldo. Of course, when he ran over to ask Elizondo to send me off I pushed him away. In that moment I couldn't believe what he was doing. But sitting in that dressing room gave me time to calm down and think," Rooney wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"I put myself in Ronaldo's shoes. Would I do the same? Probably. Would I be in the ref's face to make sure he got sent off? If he deserved the red, if it would help us win — yes, no question. I'd do it tomorrow. I thought: "Actually, I tried to get him booked in the first half for diving." And the wink thing, I didn't see anything in that at all. It was nothing.

"So I calmed down. I went over to him afterwards in the tunnel. I felt it was important to speak to him while it was still fresh and to do it face to face. He gave me a look as if to say sorry but by then I had my United head on. I said I've no issues with you. Enjoy your tournament and good luck. I'll see you in a few weeks — and let's go try and win the league."

Rooney added: "What came out of it was a bond between me and Cristiano Ronaldo that pushed us — and Manchester United — to the greatest highs."

"As for me and Ronaldo — the press tried to drag it out all summer, saying we had issues, but we had none," Rooney said.

"In the first game of the new season we beat Fulham 5-1. I scored two and set him up for one and that calmed everything down. In the dressing room we were always really close. It was always the two of us doing pranks on the manager or other players. And what had happened brought us closer together on the pitch.

"The next three years were our best as a partnership and brought three titles and the Champions League. My red card in Gelsenkirchen was the starting point."