Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has revealed his chat with Cristiano Ronaldo after the Englishman's controversial red card incident against Portugal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The incident, which took place when England and Portugal locked horns in the quarterfinals of the tournament, caught the attention of viewers worldwide. Wayne Rooney was shown a red card following a clash with Ricardo Carvalho.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the many Portuguese stars who managed to convince referee Horacio Elizendo to dismiss his then-Manchester United colleague. After the Englishman was sent off, Ronaldo was seen winking at Portugal's bench in a provocative manner that caused outrage across England.
Reflecting on the infamous episode, Rooney revealed he had a chat with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in the tunnel after the game. He explained:
"Well, we went and won the PL, no listen, I spoke to Cristiano in the tunnel after the game, after I got sent off and immediately after we'd been knocked out and I'd apologized to the players, my focus was fully back on Manchester United."
The Englishman further revealed that he later summoned the Portuguese from his dressing room to continue their conversation. At that point, he encouraged his former colleague to ignore the media distraction that would follow and focus on helping Manchester United.
"I then sent someone into Portugal's dressing room to bring Cristiano out," Rooney continued. "I think he might have been thinking 'What's gonna happen here?'
"But then I said to him, Listen, good luck for the rest of the tournament, when the tournament ends for you, all the press are going to be at me, they're going to be at you, we need to make sure we're focused to do our best for Manchester United and that was it,” added the striker.
Aftermath: Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo fire Manchester United to Premier League glory
Following the controversial incident, the duo returned to Old Trafford for the 2006-07 campaign. Ignoring the media distraction and focusing on their exploits on the pitch, they managed to lead the Red Devils to claim the Premier League title.
That season, Wayne Rooney bagged 14 goals and 12 assists for the Red Devils in the English top flight. Cristiano Ronaldo also contributed 17 goals and 16 assists in the division during what proved to be a successful outing at the Theatre of Dreams.