Zlatan Ibrahimovic has voiced his admiration for Manchester United attacker Wayne Rooney and feels the England star deserves much of the credit for Manchester United's success in 2006-07 when he shone alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

United beat Chelsea to the Premier League title, made it to the final of the FA Cup, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League that season and Ronaldo took most of the credit for their fine campaign, winning a host of individual trophies.

However, Ibrahimovic feels Ronaldo would not have been able to shine if it were not for Rooney's hard work.

"These great players, they have their moments over one to three years. But to continue over five years, for 10 years the way Wayne Rooney has done is not easy. It's pressure everyday playing for a big team," Ibrahimovic told the BBC.

"He runs a lot, he fights a lot, he sacrifices a lot,.

"When he played with Cristiano Ronaldo all the work was done by Rooney, but he didn't get the credit because Ronaldo was scoring all of the goals.

"I'd prefer to have him in my team than play against him. I've not been lucky enough to play with him but I enjoy seeing him on the pitch - if I cannot play with him, I will watch him."