Manchester United pair Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo clashed in epic fashion during last year's World Cup tie between Portugal and Italy, with Rooney seeing a red card for his troubles. United boss Alex Ferguson has now revealed that it was Rooney who made the first step towards the pair's reconciliation...
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson explained how Wayne Rooney took the first step towards patching up his damaged relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo during last year's World Cup.
Ronaldo seemed to gesture for Rooney to be sent off following a stamping incident, with Rooney pushing his Manchester United teammate away.
Fevered speculation as to the pair's club relationship followed, but Ferguson revealed that Rooney himself had a plan to fix it.
"Wayne phoned me on the day of the World Cup final and said he had a great idea. He suggested he could do a TV interview with Ronaldo and they could show everything was fine. I thought it would look stage-managed and said no," said Ferguson."
"Instead David Gill and I flew to Portugal to meet Ronaldo. We told him we'd had a similar experience with David Beckham [after France 98]."
Beckham was sent off as England clashed with Argentina in the 1998 tournament's Round of 16, lashing out at Diego Simeone, resulting in widespread vilification across England.
Ferguson was not overly concerned with Ronaldo's and Rooney's working relationship; rather, he did not want a repeat of the Beckham incident.
Sir Alex added, "Ronaldo was concerned but not afraid [about coming back]. We said we'd put extra security on his house. He said he'd try it and see how it went. It's been no bother."
In the aftermath of the incident, Rooney issued a statement condemning Ronaldo's decision to intervene, but also stated that he held no ill-feeling towards the Portuguese player.
The two remain Manchester United teammates.
