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."