Wayne Rooney has insisted he never had a problem with Cristiano Ronaldo after his former Manchester United team-mate helped get him sent off at the 2006 World Cup.
Rooney and Ronaldo came to head-to-head as England met Portugal in the quarter-finals at that year’s tournament, with the latter coming out on top after a penalty shootout.
That was only after plenty of drama involving the former United team-mates, with Rooney seeing red after stamping on Ricardo Carvalho.
Ronaldo played his part in getting his club mate sent off, and was caught on camera winking at the Portuguese bench once Rooney had been given his marching orders.
The incident led to Ronaldo feeling the wrath of plenty of fans following his return to Old Trafford later that summer, although it was soon forgotten about as the pair helped United to another Premier League title that season.
And Rooney has insisted he never held a grudge against Ronaldo – and even told his former team-mate he had moved on straight after the game.
“After I was sent off in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal and we lost on penalties, I got Ronaldo out into the tunnel,” Rooney told the Daily Mail.
“I said: ‘Listen, you’re going to get a lot of stick from the press, I’m going to get a lot of stick from the press, my focus now is on Man United.
(Image: Getty Images)
“’There is no issue with me whatsoever, I would have done exactly the same trying to get England a win against Portugal and this is a big year for us and we have every chance of winning the league.’
“My attention, once we were out, completely flipped back to Manchester United.
“There was never any issue. I actually tried to get him booked in the first half for diving. I’m playing for England, he’s playing for Portugal, do whatever you can to win.
“Honestly, I still don’t know whether I stamped on Carvalho on purpose or not. Still. I must have just had a blank.”
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