What Ashley Cole Told Cristiano Ronaldo During Manchester United Vs Chelsea Match

Ashley Cole has claimed he told Cristiano Ronaldo that he was 'in his pocket' when he signalled to come off during a match between Manchester United and Chelsea.

The 39-year-old former left-back played against Juventus superstar Ronaldo during his prolific playing career and even battled it out on the international stage.

However, Cole caused many problems for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner during a 2006 encounter between Chelsea and United.

Louis Saha would hand United an early lead, but Ricardo Carvalho would pull back an equaliser as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Cole opened up about the significant rivalry between United and Chelsea at the time and how both clubs were vying to dominate English football.

The former England international told Chelsea TV: "Man United had been one of the best teams in the world, obviously in the Premier League winning it so many times.

"It was a time where, when I came to Chelsea and we started to win the league a few times, the battles were getting harder.

"We knew it, we didn't really like to speak to the Man United players when we went on England duty -- that's how big the cause was and no-one wanted to lose that game.

"It was a kind of niggly game, people were putting tackles in -- as it always is against Man United.

"We knew it was gonna be tough against them and they didn't like us, so it was daunting at times because you know you're in for a battle.

"We wanted to be the top team in the country and there's another team that's used to winning and had that bit of arrogance about them.

"We were kind of the new kids on the block, we wanted to have that kind of swagger, we had big personalities also. It was always a tough game."

Speaking on his battle with Ronaldo, Cole said his complete focus and concentration was on the match and the former United star 'didn't want any more' after his strong tackle.

The former Chelsea star explained: "I was so focused on that game. Even in the changing room I just felt different going into this game.

"My focus and concentration -- mentally I was on it. I came to show him the line a lot because I kind of fancied my chances up against him with my pace.

"And a little bit of mentality actually, I think I got in his head a few times. He always wanted that extra trick.

"I gave him a strong tackle, maybe it was a foul or not, I don't know. And I felt at that time he didn't want it no more.

"He's kind of put his hand up and said, 'I wanna go off.' So I think it was a good time to say I had him in my pocket.

"But I had so much respect for him, it was always a tough battle against not just Manchester United, but against him. And to see what he's gone on to do is testament to how good he actually was.

"This is just one of my good moments against him and I would probably say I came out on top on this occasion."

Featured Image Credit: PA/Twitter

Topics: Football News, Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, red devils, Premier League, Blues, Ashley Cole, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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