Wayne Rooney insists he had no issue with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United following his infamous wink during England’s defeat to Portugal at the World Cup in 2006.
Rooney was sent off in the second half of the quarter-final tie by referee Horacio Elizondo, while Portugal progressed by beating England in the penalty shootout.
Ronaldo was one of the Portuguese players attempting to persuade the referee to give Rooney his marching orders, and after the red card, Ronaldo was seen winking at Portugal’s bench.
But Rooney has played down Ronaldo’s involvement and insists he would’ve done the same thing if the situation was reversed.
Ronaldo and Rooney would go on to win the Premier League the following season with Manchester United.
Rooney wrote in his column for the Sunday Times: ‘I knew it was a red card and back in the dressing room I watched the rest of the game on a little TV, thinking: “If we win this, I’m suspended for a World Cup semi-final and final and if we lose it’s my fault.”
‘It was the worst, weirdest feeling I’ve had in football.
‘I had my phone in my hand and I was getting all these messages about Ronaldo. Of course, when he ran over to ask Elizondo to send me off I pushed him away.
‘In that moment I couldn’t believe what he was doing. But sitting in that dressing room gave me time to calm down and think.
‘I put myself in Ronaldo’s shoes. Would I do the same? Probably. Would I be in the ref’s face to make sure he got sent off? If he deserved the red, if it would help us win – yes, no question.
‘I’d do it tomorrow. I thought: “Actually, I tried to get him booked in the first half for diving.” And the wink thing, I didn’t see anything in that at all. It was nothing.
‘So I calmed down. I went over to him afterwards in the tunnel. I felt it was important to speak to him while it was still fresh and to do it face to face. He gave me a look as if to say sorry but by then I had my United head on.
‘I said I’ve no issues with you. Enjoy your tournament and good luck. I’ll see you in a few weeks – and let’s go try and win the league.’
Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
