Cristiano Ronaldo was left seething with Jose Mourinho when he faced Manchester United three years ago and felt the coach lacked the class needed to represent the club.
Ronaldo’s move to Old Trafford was officially confirmed on Tuesday, with the player returning to the club where he made his names after 12 years away.
The Portugal international has signed a two-year contract with United and vowed to bring silverware back to the club.
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According to ESPN, Ronaldo was unimpressed by Mourinho’s leadership of the club and took a swipe at him when they faced off in the Champions League in 2018.
The Red devils had won 2-1 in Turin and Mourinho – who had previously managed Inter Milan – cupped his ear to the home fans after the result and appeared to goad the Juventus fans.
Juve’s players were furious with his actions at the time while Ronaldo was also unhappy – not least because his compatriot was besmirching the reputation of United.
A source told ESPN: ‘He walked past and said, “Mourinho doesn’t have the class to manage Manchester United.”’
The comment was taken as a sign of how much Ronaldo was still interested about what happened at United even after he had left, and he was unhappy with the direction they took under Mourinho’s leadership.
Speaking about his return, the former Juve star said on Tuesday: ‘It’s like a dream come true, after all the times that I went back to play against Man United, and even as an opponent, to have always felt such love and respect from the supporters in the stands. This is absolutely 100 per cent the stuff that dreams are made of!’
He added: ‘History has been written in the past and history will be written once again! You have my word!’
