SOCCER: Wayne Rooney says he harbours no ill-feeling towards Cristiano Ronaldo over his sending-off in the World Cup. In his new book, My Story So Far, Rooney also reiterates that he did not deliberately stamp on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho and that he believes he is a victim of a refereeing oversight.

In the autobiography, serialised in the Mail on Sunday, Rooney is at pains to emphasise that he still regards Ronaldo as a friend despite his Manchester United team-mate's underhand tactics in the same match. Ronaldo had led Portugal's protests and winked towards his dugout as Rooney was shown the red card.

"I was disappointed by Ronny trying to get me carded and I gave him a bit of a push in the chest but that was it," said Rooney. "What the papers don't know and probably will never believe is that on the coach, on the way home after the game, I sent a text to Ronny. I told him to forget about what had happened and that I wasn't blaming him for interfering. Then I wished him and Portugal good luck in the semis and hoped they got to the final - and I meant it.

"By protesting to the ref Ronny was doing what he thought was good for his country. During that game we were rivals, which was why I gave him a push when I thought he'd been out of order. But once it was all over we were friends, club-mates again. It was all forgotten."

There have been stories that Ronaldo had been winding up Rooney in the tunnel before the match but these were described as "untrue". Rooney said: "First of all, in the tunnel, we wished each other good luck in the game, hoped it went well, which is what you say to a team-mate. Okay, he wasn't in my team that day but you still wish a fellow professional a good game. Then he asked me if I'd heard where Quinton Fortune was going. I said no, did he know where he was going? Quinton's a friend and club-mate of both of us and he was reported to be leaving United."

Rooney also rebutted stories that he tried to confront Ronaldo after the match, which England lost on penalties.

Of the sending-off Rooney said: "I will go to my grave and still maintain it was a complete accident. If you study the photographs you will see that I had my back to the player. I couldn't see him or where I was putting my foot. If it had been a definite stamp meant to harm him, the fellow would still be in hospital. But he was up on his feet in minutes, no worse for wear. It was the sort of thing that happens when you are fighting hard for the ball. However, the ref saw it differently. He saw it as violent play and I was off."

Rooney reveals that Alex Ferguson had rung him to "commiserate" before he returned from Germany and he claims Sven-Goran Eriksson accepted his explanation. "Sven came over to me to ask what happened. He wasn't angry with me, he didn't give me a bollocking. I told him my version of the incident and how I hadn't meant it. He listened to me quietly and, when I'd finished, he said: 'These things happen'."

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has said his priority in the transfer market is to strengthen his defence and after the friendly against Barnet on Saturday he confirmed his interest in the West Bromwich Albion centre back Curtis Davies. Arsenal's back four has become a major issue for Wenger and signing a versatile defender, who can play at left back and centre back, is his intention following Ashley Cole's public declaration of his discontent with Arsenal.

Davies (21) has been attracting interest from Arsenal's city rivals Tottenham and Portsmouth. Those two suitors are understood to have already had bids of £5 million for the England under-21 player rejected by West Brom's manager Bryan Robson. Wenger said the reported asking price of £10 million is "too high", though, and he will wait for it to come down before making a move. "I have not made an inquiry and I have not made a bid but I like Curtis Davies," said Wenger.

Regardless of Cole's decision on his future, there will definitely be a move by Wenger for a defender in the transfer market. Their budget this summer is an estimated £25 million, with £7 million having been spent already on Tomas Rosicky, which is why the price tag on Davies is unappealing.

Wenger neither confirmed nor denied if he is prepared to take a major U-turn on his policy regarding signing younger players by making a bid for the 34-year-old Lilian Thuram, although he is believed to be considering it.

Wenger categorically denied that Barcelona's Javier Saviola, who helped Sevilla win the Uefa Cup on loan last season, is a target. The Argentina striker's agent Alfredo Cabrera Brizuela had said that his future "points to the Gunners". Wenger said this is untrue. "We are not interested in Saviola at all," he said.

Wenger is uninterested in any Juventus player because he claims it would be "impossible" to pay them what they receive at present which is why he is not being tempted to try to sign their goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Wenger does not expect Juventus to loan players: "They are in Serie B, with a 30-points deduction. That means, in fact, Serie C. I cannot see their interest in having a team that are all above 30. I cannot see what kind of interest they could have to keep players out on loan. When they come back to them, if they make it in two years, they could be finished."