Cristiano Ronaldo has praised former teammate Wayne Rooney's ability and attitude, saying that he would "die for the team."

Ronaldo recently left Manchester United for Spanish giants Real Madrid in a world-record £80million deal, but clearly has fond memories of his time at the club.

Ronaldo and Rooney have not always had a good relationship, with things taking a turn for the worse following an infamous confrontation at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

During the quarter-final match between England and Portugal, Ronaldo winked at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's sending off, with reports later surfacing suggesting that he encouraged the official to give the Englishman his marching orders.

Ronaldo immediately became the subject of the English footballing public's anger on his return to Manchester, and came close to leaving the club, with only the calming influence of Sir Alex Ferguson preventing the winger from making an exit.

The Portuguese and the Englishman patched up their differences though, and Ronaldo has now labeled Rooney as the best player in the Premier League.

"It is a league of amazing talent, but for me the stand-out player is Wayne Rooney," said the 24-year-old.

"His ability is fantastic, but his attitude when he plays football is that he is willing to die for the team."

The 2008 World Player of the Year also claimed that fears over United's title chances next season following the departure of Carlos Tevez and himself were unfounded, declaring: "For me they will still win the Premier League next year and I hope for a long time to come."