Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has revealed that he and former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo did not have a spat after the Portuguese international played a part in the forward's sending off for England in the 2006 World Cup.
The 27-year-old, who now plays for Real Madrid, caused a storm after encouraging the referee to give Rooney his marching orders following a challenge on defender Ricardo Carvalho.
The former Ballon d'Or winner was seen winking at the Portuguese bench in the World Cup quarter-final after the former Everton frontman was shown red for the tackle.
"As I protested my innocence, Ronnie started waving an imaginary card around, getting in the ref's face," Rooney says in his book My Decade in the Premier League, which is being serialised in The Mirror.
"The official pulled out the red and I was off. I knew I couldn't really blame Ronaldo for what had happened because he was trying to win the game for his country.
"Besides, in the first half I'd tried to get him booked for diving, so I was as bad as him really. But moments after my card, Ronaldo started winking at the sidelines, and to people watching the game on the telly it looked bad, like he was dead pleased about it."
The 26-year-old also claims in an extract from the book that Ronaldo had a pre-match ritual of admiring himself in a mirror in the dressing room.
Danielle Joynson
