Rooney lucky to escape Becks treatment in last World Cup

London, Oct.9 (ANI): When Wayne Rooney was sent off against Portugal for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho during the 2006 World Cup quarter-final, he escaped scot free.

Unlike Beckham who was reviled for a similar act in 1988, there were no effigies of Rooney hanging outside pubs as there were for Becks, reports The Sun.

Instead, Ronaldo was pilloried for suggesting to the ref that the England striker should be dismissed before winking at the bench as Rooney trudged off.

Now, as Rooney prepares for next summer's finals in South Africa, he admits he was a very lucky boy not to have been given the Becks treatment three years ago.

Smiling, Rooney said: "I didn't really get any stick, Ronaldo took a lot of it and I'm pleased with that! Of course I was happy I didn't get what Becks got or even some of what Phil Neville suffered after Euro 2000.

"I could have taken more stick. You still get it when you play for your club but that's normal," he said.

Rooney still rates the now Real Madrid superstar as the best player on the planet - even though Ronaldo's style restricted his own ability to express himself at United. (ANI)