“I’m glad I brought him down”

Former Republic of Ireland right-back Pat Flynn made a controversial statement about wanting Cristiano Ronaldo’s blood rather than his jersey during a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid in Dublin in 2009.

Ronaldo moved to the Santiago Bernabeu that summer on a then-world record €94 million move from Manchester United after six seasons in England, winning three Premier League and a UEFA Champions League title and a Ballon d’Or award.

Making his Los Blancos debut, albeit in a friendly, in Tallaght, Dublin, against Flynn’s Shamrock Rovers, Flynn explained on the This is your LOIfe podcast (via the Sun) how he might have been mistaken for a delivery man:

“I drove up in my Coca-Cola van. They’re getting off the bus at the same time probably thinking I’m a delivery guy. And then they see me in the tunnel walking out.”

About wanting to hurt Ronaldo physically, the former Ireland right-back added how the two crossed paths when the Portuguese dribbled across to the left flank after starting on the right wing:

“I laughed but when you write it down you don’t see, ‘Ha, ha, ha’. I did tackle him in the first minute. He was playing right wing, and I was playing right-back so we shouldn’t cross paths, but he’s dribbled across.

“It’s like he read it and said, ‘Come on Pat, you gonna do it or not?’ So I’ve done it. I didn’t know it was him to be honest. I’ve read about what kind of person he is. I’m glad I brought him down.”

While Ronaldo didn’t score that night, his fellow summer arrival Karim Benzema did so in the closing embers to deny Shamrock a famous draw.

How Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo spent a hugely successful nine-season spell at Real Madrid since arriving in the summer of 2009 on a world record move from Manchester United.

In 438 games across competitions, the 41-year-old netted a club record 450 times, winning two La Liga and four UEFA Champions League titles – including an unprecedented three-peat (2016-18) – and four Ballon d’Or awards.

Ronaldo scored at least 50 times in six straight seasons, including a career-best 61 in 2014-15, where he struck 48 La Liga goals. However, Los Blancos lost out on major silverware, finishing behind arch-rivals Barcelona in La Liga and getting knocked out by Serie A giants Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals.