London: England striker Wayne Rooney forgave Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo for having him sent off during their quarter-final clash at FIFA 2006 by winking at him when the two met each at a Manchester United’s training session.
Rooney made the cheeky gesture in front of the star-studded squad, who then started blinking at one another in mock imitation.
The kiss-and-make-up session followed a "peace meal" thrown for the two star players by Manchester Sir Alex Ferguson, who spent more than an hour having lunch with the two at the club’s Carrington training ground, reports The Sun.
Surrounded by pictures of the team’s glorious past Sir Alex said the young players were the team’s future.
Later Rooney shook Ronaldo’s hand on the training ground in front of their team-mates, and gave him a lingering wink similar to the one the Portuguese player gave to his bosses after getting Rooney sent off.
A source at the ground said: "The first team players were in hysterics. It didn’t look like Wayne meant it at first but Ronaldo laughed and the rest of the team cracked up. All the players were coming up to Rooney afterwards shaking his hand and winking. Wayne saw the funny side, as did Ronaldo."
"When they set eyes on each other, they were actually grinning and laughing about how many media people there were outside. They also joked about the rain because it was absolutely pelting down. A lot of people had predicted fireworks but the rain turned the meeting into a bit of a damp squib," he said.
The source said though many English fans were still livid over Ronaldo’s antics in the quarter final clash, as far as Manchester United was concerned, the episode was history.
"Spirits were good in the camp. Sir Alex is using it as a rallying call for the new season. The light-hearted mood was a stark contrast to Rooney’s fury in the aftermath of his dismissal, when he vowed he would 'split Ronaldo in two'," he said.
"As far as United are concerned, the spat is history," he added.
Comments
0 comment