Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo Nearly 'Came to Blows' After Post-Match Row in 2013

Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho nearly "came to blows" regarding the Real Madrid star's failure to track back after a game with Valencia in 2013, according to an extract from Guillem Balague's new autobiography on the Portuguese footballer.

The book, set for release this week, titled Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography, details how the pair clashed after Mourinho reprimanded the three-time Ballon d'Or winner while he was manager at Real. Ronaldo took exception to Mourinho's comments and the now Chelsea boss responded by delivering a stern message to his fellow countryman, as reported by the ​Telegraph.

Balague's extract read: "The tension was reaching breaking point in the Real Madrid dressing room. They faced Valencia in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals in January 2013 and, in the last stages of the first leg, Jose Mourinho’s side were winning 2-0.

"With 10 minutes remaining, the coach very pointedly told Cristiano Ronaldo to track back. He also reprimanded him for hurriedly taking a throw-in that Mesut Özil was unable to control, allowing Valencia to break and provide the final fright of the match.

"Mourinho, whose blood was no longer boiling by the time he reached the dressing room, reminded Cristiano of the reason for the instruction on the pitch: “If they get a goal against us…”

"The player, unable to contain his fury, got up from the bench where he was changing and began shouting, “After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you treat me! How dare you say that to me?!”

"The dressing room turned deadly silent. Mourinho tried to remain calm. “I was saying it for the team, because the team needed you to track back.”

"As he could see Cristiano had no intention of calming down, he gradually retreated. Soon after, he approached the forward again to resume the conversation with less tension. But Ronaldo fired back angrily. Mourinho was unable to contain himself any longer.

“Just so you know,’ he shouted for everybody to hear, “many think like me here, but don’t dare say it, they don’t have the balls to tell you.”

"Many of the players who witnessed the scene had demanded that Mourinho, either directly or through the coaching staff, ask Ronaldo to defend more. The situation escalated to the point where Cristiano had to be held back (some sources say by Casillas, others say by Arbeloa and Khedira, or even Sergio Ramos) to prevent the pair from coming to blows.

"Ronaldo took what should have been understood as a tactical comment as a personal attack. The relationship between Mourinho and Ronaldo would never be the same again."

Cristiano Ronaldo CR7 Underwear Campaign Turns The Footballer Into A Work Of Art

Cristiano Ronaldo isn't content with being the best football player in the world, a top model and a fashion designer... he wants to be a work of art too.
The Real Madrid star has just dropped the campaign for his fifth CR7 Underwear collection, featuring his gym-honed body as a 'canvas'.
"Our bodies are a blank canvas and underwear is the first thing we put on," he announced.

The shoot involved having paint splashed across his iconic physique which, according to Ronaldo, represents the "colours of the world" surrounding him when he sees a stadium full of cheering fans.
"I think it’s important to experiment with fashion and not take yourself too seriously – adding colour into your outfits, even subtly with underwear, is the perfect way to do this," he said of the black and white trunks.

Ronaldo, a self-confessed "perfectionist", also revealed he takes a pretty hands on approach with the designs for his collection.
"The most satisfying part is wearing styles that were once just a few sketches on the drawing board," he said.


The 31-year-old also revealed that "it's not every day that you have people throwing coloured pigments over you," but that after five minutes on the shoot, he "felt completely at home."
"By the end of the shoot it was everywhere - in my hair, all over my body, in my eyes," he said. "But it was a lot of fun and I love the final result."
We're super happy for him.

Cristiano Ronaldo Statue Vandalized

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: (L-R) Neymar of Brazil and FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid pose for a photo after a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo : Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo may not have been awarded the 2015 Ballon d’Or best player but there is no question that the Portuguese player has established his mark as one of the legendary soccer players in the world.

Everyone knows that Lionel Messi won the award over his rival and seeing the popularity of the two pro football players, it may not come as a surprise if the following of each would go a bit overboard.

Such is a practice in any sport though there are limitations. And with all due respect to Ronaldo, desecrating and vandalizing a monument put up in honor of his achievements is something that does come a bit foul.

For the sanely minded fans, most will agree that vandalizing a statue with the name of their idol (in this case Messi) is a bit too much. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Messi himself would condone the act.
 
Word of the vandalism made on the statue came out in the open from Ronaldo’s sister (Katia Aveiro) via Twitter. Rightfully so, she was pretty much upset at what the vandals (who are likely to be fans of Messi) but goes on to say that such sheds a bad light to the world’s leading island destination (Funchal, Madeira).

The statue was put up back in 2014, a memorial for Ronaldo and something unveiled as part of his personal museum via SB Nation.

Aveiro lamented the low act, something obviously meant to add insult to injury (with reference to Messi being named the World’s Best Male Player):

"This is a disgraceful act of vandalism in itself but just shows the levels of jealousy that exist. As a Portuguese citizen it embarrasses and saddens me. This island is clearly still inhabited by savages who have no respect and don’t know how to live in a respectable society," Aveiro was quoted as saying via the Daily Mail.

As of this writing, there are no leads on who the perpetrators could be. There is the possibility that the ones responsible behind it may never be known.

The thing is that this poor act of sportsmanship was pretty much uncalled for. It cannot be justified and disrespecting someone who has made his contributions to the sport has been obviously overlooked.

It remains to be seen if Ronaldo or even Messi speaks on the dastardly act, something both legendary players are likely to call foul. Then again, these instances point out that both are powerless over unruly fans/followers.