Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho reportedly “almost came to blows” in 2013 during their time together at Real Madrid, with the former’s apparent refusal to make a defensive contribution sparking a row between the duo.  

According to a new book by Spanish football expert Guillem Balague about Ronaldo, titled Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography, Mourinho and Ronaldo were involved in a heated exchange in the dressing room after a Copa del Rey tie against Valencia. Real were winning the game 2-0, and according to Balague, the manager “very pointedly” told the forward to track back.

Afterward, Mourinho reportedly reminded Ronaldo of his defensive responsibility—something the winger did not take well, according to Balague’s book (via the Daily Telegraph):

The player, unable to contain his fury, got up from the bench where he was changing and began shouting, “After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you treat me! How dare you say that to me?!”

The dressing room turned deadly silent. Mourinho tried to remain calm. “I was saying it for the team, because the team needed you to track back.”

As he could see Cristiano had no intention of calming down, he gradually retreated. Soon after, he approached the forward again to resume the conversation with less tension. But Ronaldo fired back angrily. Mourinho was unable to contain himself any longer.

“Just so you know," he shouted for everybody to hear, “many think like me here, but don’t dare say it, they don’t have the balls to tell you.”

Balague then claims Ronaldo had to be held back by his Los Blancos team-mates, with different sources claiming Iker Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Khedira and Sergio Ramos were all involved. It’s suggested the winger “took what should have been understood as a tactical comment as a personal attack,” and, subsequently, their relationship “would never be the same again.”

Mourinho left Real at the end of that campaign amid speculation he’d fell out with Casillas, per Pete Jenson of the MailOnline, subsequently rejoining Chelsea in the summer of 2013. The manager’s time in Madrid was rife with controversy, the most notable incident being when he poked former Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova in the eye.

After winning the league in his second season back with the Blues, Mourinho’s third has descended into a farce. Aside from various issues off of the pitch, as we can see here, courtesy of OptaJoe, Chelsea have been awful on it:

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has continued rattling the goals in for Real since Mourinho left, recently becoming the top goalscorer in the club’s history. Although the relationship between player and manager was apparently strained, under his compatriot, Ronaldo was superb, scoring 40, 46 and 34 La Liga goals in the three seasons Mourinho was at Real.

Last season, the Chelsea boss claimed Eden Hazard was better than Ronaldo, per Sky Sports. As we can see here, courtesy of BreatheSport, since making that claim, the Belgian hasn’t backed up his manager’s words:

Since Mourinho claimed Hazard was 'above' Ronaldo: Games: 15 Goals: 0 Penalty misses: 2 pic.twitter.com/MBaI0WgGlR

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) October 28, 2015

Talk of a possible bust-up between the pair doesn’t come as a great surprise, given the principles of the two do clash; the player is all about attacking flair and fluidity, while the manager is a stickler for defensive cohesion. Factor in Ronaldo and Mourinho are both big characters and are men who, if they have something to say, will say it, and some tension was inevitable.

Ultimately, although Mourinho left in sour circumstances, the results on the field were pretty impressive in his spell, with the team winning one league title and the Copa del Rey. They’ll both be remembered as Portuguese football greats, but based on the extract, it seems unlikely we’ll see the pair work together in unison again.