The Newcastle United hero accused of calling Cristiano Ronaldo ‘ugly’ who is now managing in Dubai

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Newcastle United vs Manchester United is always an enthralling fixture.

That was the case in March 2009 when the Red Devils arrived at St James’ Park.

Newcastle United were a mess at the time. Kevin Keegan had left the club earlier in the season, while his replacement Joe Kinnear was forced to step away due to health issues.

That resulted in Chris Hughton becoming caretaker manager, and he was in charge of the Magpies when title-chasing Manchester United came to town.

Incredibly, Newcastle took the lead through Peter Lovenkrands. That was the first goal that Man United stopper Edwin van der Sar had conceded in 1,331 minutes, which remains a Premier League record.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side would go on to come from behind to win 2-1, but not before there was some argy-bargy in the tunnel at half-time.

What happened between Steven Taylor and Cristiano Ronaldo

On the brink of half-time, Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor was booked for a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Geordie defender left Ronaldo in a heap and swung an arm at him, which resulted in an altercation in the tunnel.

According to the Daily Mail in 2009, Ronaldo waited for Taylor in the tunnel and told him he was a ‘rubbish’ player. That allegedly resulted in Taylor calling Ronaldo ‘ugly’ in retaliation.

However, Taylor denied saying that to the Portuguese forward.

He told the Daily Mirror: “As far as Ronaldo is concerned, he was nowhere near me as we went down the tunnel and this was a case of mistaken identity. I actually said to Rio [Ferdinand] that Ronaldo was a s—house.”

That proved to be Ronaldo’s last appearance against Newcastle United, leaving Man United to join Real Madrid that summer.

Where Steven Taylor is now after 2016 Newcastle United departure

As for Taylor, his Newcastle United career went on until 2016.

He suffered two relegations with the Magpies before being released at the end of the 2015/16. In total, Taylor made 268 appearances for his boyhood club.

The centre-back went on to play for Portland Timbers, Ipswich Town, Peterborough United, Wellington Phoenix and Odisha before retiring in August 2021.

Taylor has now turned his attention to management.

His first job was with Gulf United, and now the 39-year-old is in charge of Al-Qabila. They are based in Dubai, and compete in the UAE Third Division League.