The Special One recently hailed Red Devils ace Nemanja Matic as the best player he has ever worked with following the midfielder’s move from Chelsea.

“Matic, I cannot say that I had better guys than him in my career,” Mourinho said last week.

And according to Spanish transfer outlet Don Balon, Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo took offence to Mourinho’s comments.

The pair worked together at the Bernabeu during Mourinho’s time in La Liga but their relationship was fractured.

Ronaldo and Mourinho had numerous bust-ups, with Spanish journalist Guillem Balague claiming the duo nearly came to blows in his biography on the Real star.

And Don Balon add that Ronaldo reckons Mourinho made the comment to hurt him.

Cristiano Ronaldo is not happy with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho

On Matic, Mourinho explained: “And he has with me something which marks forever, which was a match where he was on the bench, I play him minute 45 and I took him off minute 70, 75.

“He was really sad. I was also sad because it’s not something nice and it’s something that I did only twice in my career.

“But the next day he comes to me and he says, ‘I’m not happy, but it’s my fault. I’m not happy with what you did to me, but it’s my fault, because the way I was playing I can understand the change. So let’s keep going’.

“We didn’t keep going for a long time because a few weeks later I was sacked.

“But again he was one of ‘my guys’, was one of the guys that we kept close during these years even not working together. So I know that the big man is there, even with more maturity.”