TJose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship became strained during their time together at Real Madrid. One of them was revealed by a public spat thanks to the testimony of Aitor Karanka, who was an assistant coach to the Portuguese manager at the time.
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Karanka, who is currently the RFEF’s director of development, spoke about El Caferito de Josep Pedrelor and, in addition to discussing the possibility of Mourinho returning to the Real Madrid bench (which did exist), he also touched on the conflict between the manager and his star player.
It was Pedrero himself who put this episode into context. “During the Copa del Rey match against Valencia, Mourinho scolded Cristiano, and Cristiano responded in front of everyone, “I’ve supported you so much…” almost crying.” It was a scene that stunned the dressing room and showed the tensions in the relationship as intense as the demands.
dangerous situation
However, Karanka took a different view. “I have a selective memory,” he said, likening it to a parent-child relationship. “It’s like a father to his son. Jose may have said something like that to provoke exactly that reaction. I say it to you in front of the whole dressing room because you are the person I trust the most,” he explained.
The former defender argued that such decisions are always made with collective logic in mind. “Every decision that Jose made and that we as a coaching staff made was for the benefit of the group,” he said. It was certainly a clash of egos, but it was also a reflection of the maximum demands that characterized one of Real Madrid’s most intense periods in the modern era.

