No problem with Rooney - Ronaldo Monday, July 03, 2006
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday there was no rift between him and Wayne Rooney despite the furore over the winger's actions when the England forward was red carded in their World Cup quarter-final.
"There is no problem at all between me and Rooney," Ronaldo said. "At the end of the game, we exchanged a series of text messages just as we had on the day before.
"This reinforces that I have a fine relationship with Rooney. Between the two of us, everything is clear."
Ronaldo ran 40 metres to confront Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo about an allegedly deliberate foul by Rooney on Ricardo Carvalho. The England striker pushed him away and Elizondo pulled out the red card.
The British media reported on Monday morning that Rooney - a team-mate of Ronaldo at Manchester United - had tried to gain entry to the Portugal dressing room after the match to attack him.
"Statements have appeared as if they were from him, saying that he didn't want to play with me in Manchester," said Ronaldo. "That's not what he wants. Of course he wants to. This is absolutely false, he said so himself.
"In fact, he didn't 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 get a long way. He wasn't angry with me, or about anything that happened."
