“I'll become stronger than you” - When Mario Balotelli reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo giving shirt to someone else before his request

Mario Balotelli once talked about his tussle with Cristiano Ronaldo during a 2009 UEFA Champions League knockout clash. At the time, the Italian was earmarked by many as one of the future greats while Ronaldo had just won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008.

Balotelli's Inter Milan met Ronaldo's Manchester United in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on March 11, 2009. After a goalless first leg, the two sides had all to play for at Old Trafford. During the game, Balotelli floored Ronaldo with a reckless tackle before asking the Portugal international to get up and giving him a piece of his mind.

In a 2010 interview with Le Lene (via GOAL), the Italian striker opened up about the incident, explaining why he had a beef with Ronaldo. He said:

"I asked for Cristiano Ronaldo's jersey and he told me he already gave it to someone else. I replied, 'I will become stronger than you.'"

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a decisive header in the 49th minute as Manchester United won the game 2-0. Nemanja Vidic scored the other goal in the fourth minute.

Since that game, Ronaldo has won four more Ballons d'Or and is currently regarded as one of the best players to have ever played the game. The Portuguese is also the highest individual goalscorer in men's football with 908 goals for club and country.

Mario Balotelli, meanwhile, signed for Serie A club Genoa in October 2024 after spending a year playing for Turkish side Adana Demirspor. He also played for the likes of AC Milan, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Marseille.

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Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham believes Cristiano Ronaldo would be welcomed by new coach Ruben Amorim

Norwich City v Manchester United - Premier League - Source: Getty

Former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham recently said that new manager Ruben Amorim would welcome Cristiano Ronaldo into the Red Devils squad in any capacity.

However, he believes that Ronaldo would take the path of David Beckham and pursue goals away from football post-retirement.

After sacking former manager Erik ten Hag on October 28, Manchester United appointed Portuguese tactician Ruben Amorim as their new boss.

In a recent interview with Flash Score (via GOAL), Sheringham said:

“Cristiano Ronaldo would be very welcome back at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, but he is onto bigger and better things. I think that Ronaldo will follow in the path of David Beckham in doing things away from coaching, higher profile things around the world."

"I'm sure he'd be very, very welcome in any capacity coming back to the club, but I doubt that he'll be a coach,” he added.

Ronaldo has netted 10 goals and provided three assists in 15 games in all competitions for Al-Nassr this season.