Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday there is no hostility between him and his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney despite accusations that he helped get the England striker sent off during the World Cup quarter-finals.
LISBON: Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday there is no hostility between him and his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney despite accusations that he helped get the England striker sent off during the World Cup quarter-finals.
"I would like to make it clear that there is no problem at all between me and Rooney. I insist: no problem at all," he told the Oporto-based Gestifute agency which represents him.
"At the end of the game, we exchanged a series of text messages just as we had on the day before. Between the two of us, everything is clear," he added.
"In fact, he didnt just send me congratulations for going forward in the World Cup, he also told me we have a great team, and if we carry on as we have, we will go far."
During the second half of Saturday's match Ronaldo appeared to encourage Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo to demand a card for Rooney after the England star stamped on Chelsea's Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho.
Rooney was sent off in the 62nd minute and England went on to lose 3-1 on penalties, including the decisive one scored by Ronaldo.
English media have reported that Rooney is furious at Ronaldo for trying to influence the referee and has vowed never to play with the Portuguese striker again. Ronaldo denies any role in Rooney's eviction.
"I am not the referee with the power to send off anyone I want, nor do I have the ability to convince him to show cards," he said.
"The referee produced the red card because he thought that he had to, and my participation in that was absolutely zero."
Ronaldo added Rooney had told him to ignore the reports in the English press as they were not true.
"Statements have appeared as if they were from him, saying that he didnt want to play with me in Manchester. Thats not what he wants. Of course he wants to. This is absolutely false, he said so himself when asked," he said.
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