Ronaldo's blunt comment to Jose Mourinho that saw him back down in furious spat

02 July 2023 , 08:45

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Ronaldo's blunt comment to Jose Mourinho that saw him back down in furious spat

The Santiago Bernabeu home dressing room has played host to some huge footballing figures down the years, but perhaps few bigger than Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Back in 2013, at a time when many felt that Mourinho was one of the best managers in the world and Ronaldo the best player, the pair clashed in the Real Madrid dressing room following a win over Valencia. The situation stemmed from the iconic number seven taking a throw-in too quickly.

Ronaldo's throw was a difficult one for recipient Mesut Ozil to control and given it happened just before full-time, it put the result at risk. Mourinho made this clear to the former Manchester United man from both the touchline and after the game.

It didn't go down well with the five-time Ballon d'Or winning forward, who, according to Guillem Balague's book Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography, snapped back: "After everything I've done for you, this is how you treat me? How dare you say that to me!"

The rest of the team sat in stunned silence while Mourinho replied: "I was saying it for the team because the team needed you to track back."

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Ronaldo, still in no mood to ease the tension, brushed his manager aside when Mourinho tried to patch things up shortly after. If anything, his attempts only made the forward angrier, which in turn sparked a furious response from the Madrid boss.

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Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo fell out at Real Madrid

The now Roma boss hit out at Ronaldo, in front of his team-mates: "Just so you know, he shouted, "Many think like me here, but don't dare say it, they don't have the balls to tell you."

It is believed that tempers flared to such a point that the pair had to be separated to ensure things didn't turn physical.

The book claims that Mourinho had actually been told in the days leading up to the incident to demand more defending from Ronaldo by the rest of the players in the squad. The goal machine took what was merely some tactical instructions as a vicious attack on his character.

Ronaldo's confidence to issue such a scathing reply to his manager paints a pretty damning picture of the state of the Los Blancos dressing room dynamic at that time.

It is believed that the damage inflicted on Ronaldo's relationship with Mourinho was irreparable. Though it wasn't particularly awkward for long, as the latter left the Spanish capital just months later.

Ronaldo however, remained at Real Madrid for another five years before he eventually left for Juventus, which was followed by an ill-fated second spell at United before ending up in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr.

Josh O'Brien