“It was horrible” - Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney opens up on ‘lowest moment’ of his football career
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has stated that his red card against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup was the lowest point in his career. He stamped on Ricardo Carvalho in the quarter-final of the tournament which led to his sending off, and England eventually lost in the penalty shootout.
Speaking on The Overlap, Rooney admitted that he was devastated after entering the dressing room. He said:
"The red card in the World Cup was my lowest moment in football. That was a difficult one because I remember going in the dressing room and thinking, if we go through, I'm suspended for the Semi-Final and Final if we get there. If we don't, it's your fault. It was horrible."
Rooney also spoke about it in the Amazon Prime documentary and was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying:
"I still don't know how the referee hasn't given me a foul beforehand. And I still don't know to this day, truthfully, if I've meant to stamp on him or not. I don't know. I couldn't tell you. My head has just completely blurred out. I don't know if I've meant to do it, or I've just come down on him accidentally. As the game went on I was on my own, and I smashed a few things up in the dressing room when I went in."
In the quarter-final of the 2006 World Cup between England and Portugal, referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo sent off Wayne Rooney at the hour mark, with the game ending goalless after extra time as the Three Lions held on. However, England went on to lose 3-1 in the shootout, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty.
Wayne Rooney spoke to Cristiano Ronaldo after red card vs Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the first Portugal players to urge the referee to issue a red card to Wayne Rooney, and infamously winked after the sending-off. The former Manchester United and Everton attacker admitted that he spoke to his club teammate soon after the incident and said there were no issues between them.
He said in an Amazon Prime documentary:
"I remember speaking to Ronaldo and saying to him 'there's gonna be a lot of media coverage on what's happened, but I've got no issue with what you've done. Let's get ready to go and win the Premier League.' I think he was relieved! Other players might have had an issue with him, but I've got no issue whatsoever. My focus was on Manchester United."
Manchester United went on to win the Premier League title in the 2006/07 season, finishing six points ahead of second-placed Chelsea. Wayne Rooney scored 23 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils while assisting 15 times.