Rooney - No goals target

United front-man puts collective glory first

Last updated: 11th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Rooney - No goals target

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Wayne Rooney insists he is not thinking about Cristiano Ronaldo's 42-goal record despite his double against AC Milan on Wednesday night taking his tally for the season to 30.

England's talisman has been nothing short of sensational in recent months and has rightly been hailed as one of the world's best players for his goalscoring exploits.

A two-legged UEFA Champions League last 16 tie between Manchester United and Milan was dominated by Rooney, as he scored twice in the San Siro and then repeated the feat at Old Trafford.

Managers, players and journalists alike are running out of superlatives to describe his irrepressible form, with many speculating it will be Ronaldo's record, set two years ago, that will next be in Rooney's sights.

But Rooney, the quintessential team player, is adamant collective glory will always take precedence over personal accolades.

"I am delighted to get two more goals but I have not set myself a target. I just want to keep scoring," said Rooney.

"Overall, it was a great result and we are delighted to get through.

"Now we can just look forward to the draw and see how it goes from there.

"There is no preference. They are all difficult games at this stage of the competition."

All tough

United already know Lyon, Bayern Munich and Arsenal are potential quarter-final opponents, while holders Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Sevilla appear to be the strongest sides left in the other half of the draw, which is concluded next week.

However, after ripping apart the seven-time winners in clinical fashion, it is the rest of Europe that needs to be wary of United, who are bidding to reach a third successive final for the first time in their history.

"The first goal was vital," said Rooney.

"We set out to get an early goal to kill the game off and when we got it we shattered Milan's confidence.

"That was the major turning point."

New deal

Meanwhile, United have signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with Telekom Malaysia.

The deal makes Telekom Malaysia the "Integrated Telecommunications Partner" of United in Malaysia.

It continues the strategy of widening United's sponsorship base and hopes to tap into the enormous fan base of the Red Devils in the country.

"Anyone who went on our tour of the Far East last summer knows the strength of feeling that Malaysians have for the club," said chief executive David Gill.

"Over 40,000 attended our training session and another 40,000 came to the second match in Kuala Lumpur, despite only having 48 hours' notice of the fixture."