“One of the highlights of my career” - When Liverpool's sporting director target made honest admission on Cristiano Ronaldo headbutting him

Former Portsmouth footballer and Bournemouth technical director Richard Hughes, who is reportedly being targeted by Liverpool for their to-be vacant sporting director post, once made an interesting admission regarding Cristiano Ronaldo. He jokingly admitted back in 2021 that getting headbutted by the Portuguese was "one of the highlights of his career."

Jurgen Klopp's recent announcement that he would leave Liverpool at the end of the season led to the Reds' sporting director Jorg Schmadtke confirming his departure. The club are reportedly looking for replacements for both positions, and Hughes has emerged as an option for the latter.

Hughes might become an instant fan favorite at Anfield due to an old incident involving him and then-Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. In a 1-1 draw between United and Portsmouth in 2007, Hughes was headbutted by the forward, which resulted in the latter being shown a straight red card.

Hughes told the podcast Played Up Pompey Three in 2021 that he was subbed onto the pitch in that game to mark Ronaldo at set-pieces, and wound up the Portuguese superstar enough to make him lose his temper. He said (via The Sun):

"My instructions were to pick up Ronaldo from set-pieces. I knew if he had a run on the ball then his jump was unbelievable. So when a corner was about to be taken, I deliberately moved towards him to make us collide, yet portrayed it as accidental while the ball sailed over our heads."

Then, he recalled the exact moment when Cristiano lost his temper, saying:

"Ronaldo went to push me off, so I flipped his hand away and the timing was perfect, he came stumbling forward and landed against my chest. Now I wasn’t interested in a head-to-head altercation, so he had to come in a little closer – and, when he did, he popped against the side of my head."

However, he called the moment trivial and played it off as the highlight of his career, stating:

"It was a trivial moment. One of the highlights of my career, but an insignificant encounter for Cristiano Ronaldo."

Jurgen Klopp and Trent Alexander-Arnold eye Liverpool milestones

Liverpool will take on Chelsea next in the Premier League on Wednesday, January 31, providing an opportunity for Jurgen Klopp to record his 200th league win as the Reds' manager. The two teams will also meet at Wembley next month in the EFL Cup final, a repeat of the 2022 edition which Liverpool won on penalties.

The game against Chelsea game would be Klopp's 318th league game as the Reds' manager. Should they win, he will become the fastest Liverpool manager to reach the 200-win milestone and join a club with only three other members. Bob Paisley (355 games) Bill Shankly (378 games) and Tom Watson (434 games) are the only other managers to have won 200 league games with the Reds.

Trent Alexander-Arnold could also make his 300th appearance for Liverpool in that game, at the age of 25 years and 116 days. This would make him the third youngest to reach the milestone after Ian Rush (25 years and 47 days) and Emlyn Hughes (25 years and 54 days).