While Cristiano Ronaldo reached great heights on an individual level during Jose Mourinho's reign at Real Madrid, it's no secret that the two did not see eye to eye during their time together at Santiago Bernabeu. In fact, according to Luka Modric, the pair nearly came to blows, with the Croatian midfielder recalling one intense altercation between the Portuguese men.
The Special One was in charge of the Spanish giants from 2010 to 2013 and during that time, Ronaldo scored a whopping 168 times in 164 matches, winning the league and cup title along the way. However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner did not enjoy the best of relationships with his countryman and had it not been for the intervention from his former Real Madrid team-mates, the iconic attacker could have been involved in a physical bust-up with Jose.
Modric, who was brought to the Spanish capital from Tottenham by Mourinho back in 2012, wrote about this incident in his autobiography "My Game". During a Copa del Rey tie, Cristiano incurred the wrath of Mourinho for failing to chase down the opposition during. Despite being 2-0 up, the then Blancos boss did not let Ronaldo go easily and the pair exchanged words on the field.
Come half time, all hell broke loose, according to Modric. The Special One made sure to tear into the iconic no.7 until things reached a boiling point, with team-mates "intervening" to prevent a real fight.
"I was surprised by Mourinho's reaction. We were winning 2-0 in the Copa del Rey," the Croatian writes in his autobiography.
"Ronaldo did not chase the rivals on his throw-in and Jose was furious with Cristiano.
"The two fought for a long time on the field. After returning to the locker room at half-time, I saw Ronaldo desperate, on the verge of tears.
"He said, 'I do my best and he continues to criticize me.'
"Mourinho came in and began to criticize the Portuguese for this responsibility during the game.
"They became so hot that only the intervention of the team-mates voided a real fight between them."
Jose would eventually fall out with the dressing room before leaving the club in 2013 for a return to Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti was brought in as his successor, with the Italian leading the Madrid heavyweights to La Decima, their 10th Champions League title. Cristiano would add three consecutive European titles to his belt after that under the tutelage of Zidane before bringing an end to his nine-year spell with Los Blancos in 2018.
