LONDON, March 11, 2010 (AFP) - Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney can shatter former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo's 42-goal total, according to two of his Old Trafford colleagues.

Rooney reached 30 goals for the season with two clinical finishes in Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League win over AC Milan.

The 24-year-old is already well past his previous best of 23 goals set in 2006-07 and, with nine league games left as well as at least two more European ties, Darren Fletcher and Gary Neville agree with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Rooney should exceed Ronaldo's total from the 2007-08 season.

"If he keeps going the way he is then he definitely will," United midfielder Darren Fletcher told Sky Sports.

"I don't think Wayne's the type of player to pass up on this opportunity now, he's going to push on.

"He's a determined player and we hope he pushes on because we're still fighting for the Premier League and the Champions League.

"Let's see if he can get to 40, and I'm sure the manager will keep challenging him as well."

United captain Gary Neville added: "Hopefully he can score every game until the end of the season but more importantly we hope he scores crucial goals that win us matches.

"His performances and goals have been fantastic for us and we need to keep him fit going into this run-in.

"It's a great moment for himself, the way he's playing. He's confident and he's scoring goals. We just need to keep him fit now and keep him out there."