Sir Alex Ferguson Reveals What Rooney Told Him After Ronaldo Incident

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed what Wayne Rooney told him after the incident between he and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2006 World Cup.

Rooney was sent off in the quarter final in Germany for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho but his club teammate Ronaldo was accused of influencing the decision of referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo and getting him the red card.

CR7 was seen winking to the Portugal bench afterwards and his antics angered England fans and members of the press.

Portugal went on to beat 10-man England on penalties, and it was thought afterwards that a rift between Ronaldo and Rooney, two of United's most influential players, was developing - and there was talk of the former heading for the exit door.

That never happened, as the duo struck up a wonderful understanding in the next three seasons at Old Trafford.

However, Ferguson, who Ronaldo views as a father figure, revealed that the incident 11 years ago played a part in Ronaldo's decision to leave United for Real in 2009, even if Rooney was mature and professional about the whole episode.

In a lengthy interview with France Football, following Ronaldo's fifth Ballon d'Or win, the legendary manager said:

"It actually all started during the 2006 World Cup when Rooney was sent off against Portugal and the press and critics accused Cristiano of having contributed to that. It was unfair.

"But I have to say that on that occasion, Rooney was fantastic and managed the situation very well.

"He came to me and asked if he and Cristiano should do an interview together to silence all the critics before the start of season."

"I told him that the idea did not seem wise. I thought that it was some sort of gimmick, and I do not like gimmicks.

"Through Jorge Mendes, we were informed that Cristiano was unhappy. He told Jorge that he would not come back to United and that he wanted to go to Real Madrid. At the time [Ramon] Calderon was running for Real Madrid's presidency and used Cristiano as a reason to vote for him, which was unseemly of him.

"I took the plane to Lisbon to meet Cristiano in Carlos Queiroz's house. I told him, 'You are not leaving this year. I do not want to sell you to Calderon. But if you play well, you will leave later.' Jorge Mendes was amazing. He did not want Cristiano to leave. He felt that he was not ready.

"He put his financial interests aside as well as those of the player - all that money he could have won - for Cristiano's career, including that amazing 2008-2009 season. He knew that I would not go back on my promise. His concentration and work ethic were marvellous. In 2009, Florentino Perez became president of Real, which made it easier for us to work with him concerning his transfer."

Ronaldo won one Ballon d'Or, along with a slew of honours in his six-year stint at United, and has since won a further two Ballon d'Ors at Real Madrid, with his latest triumph tying him with rival Lionel Messi.

Yesterday, in a 5-0 rout over Sevilla at the Bernabeu, the 32-year old celebrated his Ballon d'Or victory in style by bagging a brace and taking his yearly tally to 51.

Impressively, it continues an interesting trend for the Portuguese phenomenon.

At Madrid, every time Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or, he has scored in the next game that came after he was presented with the award.