Cristiano Ronaldo was almost brought to tears during a mid-game "fight" with Jose Mourinho, reveals Luka Modric.
The incident occurred in a Copa del Rey fixture - of which Real Madrid were winning - where Modric claims Mourinho was "furious" with the future five-time Ballon d'Or winner for not tracking his man.
The now Tottenham manager Mourinho is certainly not one to shy away from handing out criticism, publicly calling out record-signing Tanguy Ndombele earlier in the Premier League season after hauling him off at half-time.
Ronaldo scored a staggering 120 goals in just 106 games under Mourinho, but that clearly didn't stop Mourinho from holding back.
"Mourinho's reaction surprised me," Modric recalled in his biography 'My Game'. "We were winning 2-0 in the Copa del Rey.
"Ronaldo didn't follow his man at a throw-in and Jose was furious with Cristiano. The two fought for a long time on the pitch.
"When we went back into the dressing room at half time, I saw Ronaldo upset, on the verge of tears. "He said 'I'm doing the best I can and he's still criticising me'.
"Mourinho came in and started to criticise the Portuguese for his responsibility during the game.
"It got so heated between them that only the intervention of the players prevented a proper fight between them."
