Cristiano Ronaldo once clashed with former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho at the club, according to journalist Guillem Balague. The Portuguese superstar was still playing for Los Blancos when the pair came to blows due to Mourinho’s comments.
The incident occurred in the disastrous 2012/13 season when Real Madrid failed to defend their league title. After a 2-0 Copa de Rey win over Valencia in January, the Portuguese manager criticized his countryman for not tracking back.
Mourinho’s comments were not taken lightly by Cristiano Ronaldo, who reportedly confronted Mourinho. The two shared the same agent – Jorge Mendes – but that did little to address the rising animosity between the two fiery Portuguese.
In his biography of the player published in 2015, Balague claimed that the pair almost came to blows following that comment. It was mentioned that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had to be held back as he lashed out at Mourinho, saying (via Sky Sports):
“After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you treat me? How dare you say that to me!”
Their relationship soon reached breaking point and Cristiano Ronaldo’s response to Mourinho’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu left little to imagination:
“It doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is my future and the club.”
Mourinho lost his job at the end of the season, with Real Madrid moving on to appoint Carlo Ancelotti as his replacement.
Were Real Madrid wise to offload Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018?
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus in €112m move. By then, the Portuguese had scored 450 goals and registered 131 assists from 438 games for Los Blancos.
Ronaldo had helped the club win two league titles and four Champions Leagues, among others. However, he was already on the wrong side of 30 and the LaLiga giants decided that the time was ripe to cash in on him.
The Bianconeri came calling that summer and Real Madrid obliged, securing more than the fee they had paid Manchester United in 2009. The Portuguese continued his goalscoring exploits at Turin, plundering 101 goals from 134 games for the Bianconeri.
However, it may be argued that he never reached the heights he had achieved at the Santiago Bernabeu. After three seasons in Turin, where he won the Serie A twice, Ronaldo briefly moved back to Old Trafford.
Unfortunately, his stay with the Red Devils wasn’t fruitful and the 39-year-old eventually joined Al-Nassr in December 2022.
