“You won’t pass” - When Brazil legend Cafu laughed at Cristiano Ronaldo during heated Champions League showdown
Brazilian legend Cafu once recalled his conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo during a fiery Champions League fixture between AC Milan and Manchester United. The legendary right-back was matched up against the Portuguese superstar in the Round of 16 tie between the Italian and English giants in the 2004-05 edition of the competition.
At the time, Ronaldo was a feisty 20-year-old trying to make his mark on the biggest stage with the Red Devils. On the other hand, 34-year-old Cafu was an experienced campaigner nearing the latter stages of his career.
Milan's brick-wall of a defense, consisting of Cafu, Alessandro Nesta, Jaap Stam and Paolo Maldini, didn't let Ronaldo have an inch of space throughout the two legs. The Italian giants comfortably won both legs by a 1-0 scoreline.
It was in the second leg at the San Siro when the situation between Cafu and Ronaldo reached a boiling point. After a small collision between the pair, the Portuguese forward let his emotions loose, squaring up to the full-back and pushing him in the neck. The incident can be seen in the first few seconds of Cafu's Instagram post below:
Cafu did not retaliate, and simply laughed it off. In a 2020 interview with Paolo Menicucci of the Champions Journal, the official magazine of the Champions League, the Brazilian recalled the situation:
"That match against Manchester United [in 2005] I remember really well. I had some duels with Ronaldo in that game. He was very young, I was much older than him, but we had a great battle. I didn’t want to let him get by me. I was saying, 'Kid, here, no. You won’t pass.' He replied, 'Yes, I will,' then me again, 'No!'"
Despite early setbacks, Cristiano Ronaldo went on to become one of the greatest players in Champions League history
Despite setbacks against Cafu and AC Milan early on in his Champions League career, Cristiano Ronaldo has cemented himself as a bonafide UCL legend.
The games against Milan were in just his second ever UCL campaign, with his relative inexperience and temperamental attitude showing through. Over time, he became calmer and much more clinical, eventually going on to etch his name in UCL history.
Ronaldo is one of the most successful players in the history of the competition, lifting one title with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid. He also holds a whole host of tournament records, such as:
1) Most goals - 140
2) Most appearances - 183
3) Most goals in a single UCL campaign - 17 (2013-14)
4) Most UCL golden boots - seven (2007-08, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18)
5) Only player to score in three UCL finals - against Juventus (2017, two goals), against Atletico Madrid (2014, one goal) and against Chelsea (2008, one goal).