Gabriel Heinze has strenuously denied wading into a public row with Sir Alex Ferguson, rejecting any responsibility for quotes attributed to him in which the Real Madrid defender criticised his former manager.
Heinze, who left Old Trafford at the start of last season, was dragged back into focus at Manchester United when Ferguson claimed Real Madrid had only signed him in order to increase their chances of recruiting his close friend Cristiano Ronaldo.
The defender reportedly described Ferguson’s own comments as ‘absolute science fiction’ and claimed that Ronaldo would be an even better player had he moved to Madrid over the summer.
However, Heinze’s current club have now moved quickly to deny that the player made any public comments in response to Ferguson’s interview.
"Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze has denied that he made any of the declarations that have appeared in some of the English media,” read a statement on the club’s official website.
"Heinze wants to make it clear that at no point has he made any statement to those media who made these supposed declarations of his."