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."