Ferdinand says Ronaldo asked him to instigate peace talks with Rooney

Rio Ferdinand reveals Cristiano Ronaldo asked him to set up peace talks with a ‘hot’ Wayne Rooney in the aftermath of their infamous 2006 World Cup clash that saw the England man sent off in the quarter-final

• Rio Ferdinand says Wayne Rooney was ‘hot’ after his 2006 World Cup red card
• Cristiano Ronaldo encouraged ref to send him off for Ricardo Carvalho stamp
• Ferdinand said Ronaldo approached him afterwards to get Rooney to talk to him 

Rio Ferdinand has opened up on how Cristiano Ronaldo asked him to instigate peace talks with Wayne Rooney after their clash in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final that saw the England striker sent off.

Rooney was dismissed in the second half for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho after a tangle, with Ronaldo appealing to the referee for a red card before being filmed winking towards the Portugal bench. England went on to lose the match 3-1 on penalties. 

Rooney was visibly furious with his Manchester United team-mate as he left the pitch in the 62nd minute and Ferdinand explained how he helped him call a truce with Ronaldo after the game.

Wayne Ronaldo and Cristiano Rooney clashed after the Portugal helped get his Manchester United team-mate sent off in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final

Rooney saw red for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho in a tangle and England lost on penalties 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Oq1OKklaQ4s%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1

Speaking on his Vibe with Five vlog, Ferdinand said: ‘It was on the coach. Immediately afterwards, Wazza was hot in the changing rooms and I think a few people got him and said “it’s not how you might think it is, it’s not like that”. 

‘Then we got onto the coaches, I think Cristiano pulled me and said “Ri, can you go and get Wayne, I just want to talk to him and tell him I didn’t mean anything, there’s no animosity or malice in what I’ve done – we’re both on the same team, I would never do that, he’s my boy, my guy”.

‘So I went and got Wazza and said “listen, Cris wants to talk to you” so I got him off the coach and put them together but from that point on I didn’t say anything.

‘I don’t know if I squashed it, they did that themselves but I was the one who got them together.’

Rooney opened up on the incident in an extensive interview with Sportsmail over the weekend.

‘There is no issue with me whatsoever, I would have done exactly the same trying to get England a win against Portugal,’ he explained.

Ronaldo was then seen winking towards the Portugal bench after Rooney was sent off

Ferdinand revealed that afterwards, Ronaldo asked him to instigate a chat with Rooney

‘I said: “Listen, you’re going to get a lot of stick from the press, I’m going to get a lot of stick from the press, my focus now is on Man United”.

‘I actually tried to get him booked in the first half for diving. I’m playing for England, he’s playing for Portugal, do whatever you can to win. 

‘Honestly, I still don’t know whether I stamped on Carvalho on purpose or not. Still. I must have just had a blank. 

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