Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United striker, has spoken of his desire to see out his career at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the former United forward, urged Rooney last week to join him at Real Madrid, but the England striker has set his sights on surpassing Ryan Giggs’s appearance record for the Barclays Premier League champions.

Rooney’s contract runs until June 2012, but United will open talks about a lucrative new deal next season as they look to secure the player’s long-term future.

Giggs has made 816 appearances for United, but Rooney, at 24, has played 252 games for the club and hopes to pass his team-mate’s record.

“The way his [Giggs’s] life is, you have got to have great respect for the way he handles himself and you look at the things he’s done and won, and for me he’s the perfect role model,” Rooney said as United prepared to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. “I hope I can reach that many appearances for United.

“The number of games Giggsy has played is unbelievable and if I can get anywhere near that, I’d be delighted. I have always said I would love to end my career here and if I could emulate what Giggsy has done at this club it would be an amazing achievement.”

Rooney, who became the father of a baby boy, Kai, this week, has also revealed how the opportunity to antagonise Liverpool further was one of the main factors behind his decision to join United from Everton for £27 million in August 2004.

“Growing up in Liverpool, throughout the Nineties United were winning most of the trophies and for me it was always a chance to have a go back at the Liverpool fans because Everton didn’t really win much,” Rooney said. “They [Everton] won the FA Cup in 1995, but that was about it. So whenever Liverpool fans had a go out at you, you could always go on about United, so it was always great to have a go back with them with United.

“And then when I started playing for the Everton first team and England, I saw the way United played and I loved it.”

Rooney is particularly close to Darren Fletcher, the United midfield player, and has joked how Wes Brown, the defender, calls the pair Tom and Jerry, after the cartoon characters.

“Me and Fletch always try to wind Wes up, so sometimes he bites back and he just called us it once,” Rooney said. “I think Fletch would probably have to be the mouse. We give him [Brown] a bit of stick, so he tries to get us back.”