He told the Daily Mail: “Yes, we have a special understanding, it works for us. He’s the best player at the club.
“When I signed for Manchester United, he was one of the first players to come up to me and to be nice to me.
“He made me feel welcome, made me feel part of the team.
“I understand him as a player and I like the way that he plays, as well as his personality, his character. He has many qualities and strengths.
“He is a strong and skilful player. In that goal against Middlesbrough, you can see how clever Rooney is.
“We seem to have a confidence in each other. You must give him credit too for that. Since day one, the very first training session, I came home and I knew that we could play well together.
“I watched him, I studied his movement and sometimes it is what he does off the ball, as well as what he does with the ball, that makes him a special player.
“The playing relationship between us came quickly.”
