England: What Steven Gerrard said to Wayne Rooney after Cristiano Ronaldo's wink

Every single England fan would banish the memories from the nation’s quarter-final match against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup if they could.

The Three Lions’ ‘Golden Generation’ were tipped to the biggest prize of all out in Germany, but they were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.

Portugal eventually prevailed in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning spot kick.

The Manchester United superstar crushed English dreams and he also became public enemy number one for his role in Wayne Rooney‘s infamous red card.

Rooney’s stamp on Ricardo Carvalho saw him dismissed from the field of play by referee Horacio Elizondo, who’d been put under enormous pressure by Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates.

And as the Englishman stormed towards the tunnel, cameras spotted Ronaldo winking towards the bench, an act which became front page news.

Nobody has forgotten about it since, although Rooney insisted that he was not too upset with his then United colleague.

“I bear no ill-feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed he chose to get involved,” Rooney, who was just 20-years-old at the time, said.

Ronaldo also claimed there was no drama between the pair.

“At the end we texted each other and between us everything’s been cleared,” the five-time Ballon d’Or winner added.

“He wasn’t angry with me and, moreover, he told me to completely ignore what the English press has said, that all they wanted was to create confusion.”

But Rooney’s England teammate Steven Gerrard was absolutely livid with what happened on the pitch.

In his autobiography, the Liverpool legend revealed what he told Rooney on the team bus after the game and it’s safe to say he didn’t hold back one bit.

“Sadly a dark side stains Cristiano