STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES

Blazing-mad Wayne Rooney tried to burst into Portugal's changing room to get at Cristiano Ronaldo after England's agonising World Cup defeat.

Rooney, 20, was hell-bent on a confrontation after his Manchester United teammate appeared to encourage the referee to send him off.

But senior England players warned the emotional striker he would wreck his career if he sparked a mass brawl with the Portuguese team.

They managed to head off the flash point by persuading Rooney to get straight on the England bus at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen. Last night the dejected England squad jetted home after Saturday's penalty shoot-out agony.

The 20-year-old striker had sat in England's dressing room for almost 90 minutes after he was red-carded - working himself into a towering rage over his Manchester United teammates part in the sending off.

And by the time England had lost in the agonising penalty shoot-out he was ready to explode.

But as he started to storm towards Portugal's dressing room he was stopped by teammates who begged him to see sense.

From the Sun:

Furious Wayne Rooney has threatened to “split Cristiano Ronaldo in two” when they next meet. The England striker says the slippery Portuguese winker got him sent off in Saturday's World Cup clash.

Troubled Rooney, 20, blew his top and branded Man United team-mate Ronaldo, 21, a “pretty boy” in talks with pals. The looming showdown is a major crisis for Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rooney's blast at Ronaldo was revealed by a top FA source. The insider said:

"At breakfast in the hotel this morning, Wayne said he would split him in two and smack him in the head. Who can blame him?

"He is determined to settle the score in his own way and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

"Wayne is sure Ronaldo set out to get him sent off — and yet he believed the banter at the beginning of the game was just that. He is now sickened that a team-mate set out to destroy him.

"Wayne knows Fergie will try to convince him to make peace with Ronaldo for the good of United but that won't wash with him."