Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo branded ‘malicious bigmouth’ by Brazil

In a game that saw two of the candidates for World Player of the year go head-to-head, Kaka orchestrated many of Brazil’s attacks while Ronaldo did little to justify his claim to be favourite for the award during his team’s defeat in Brasilia.

“He’s a malicious guy,” said Silva, “and if I hadn’t jumped out of the way he would have broken my leg.

“He just lost it because we snuffed him totally out of the game.

“He had the nerve to say he didn’t touch me but that’s only because I got out of the way.”

Earlier this week, Ronaldo said that he was so good he could fill the first three places in the Fifa Player of the Year awards, but his time in Brazil finished on a sour note as the game came to a close.

Ronaldo had several run-ins with the Brazil players while Silva refused the Manchester United playmaker’s hand after one particularly nasty challenge in the closing stages.

“Being considered the best player in the world, he must have more respect. It is difficult to accept what he did,” said Silva.

“He is a little [naughty], yes. But that is football. And we need to know to deal with it.

“He was nervous because he couldn’t create anything.

“Then he realised he was in the wrong and tried to apologise but I wasn’t accepting that.”

Silva’s team-mates, too, were in unforgiving mood and cast doubts on the Manchester United player’s temperament when things go against him on a football pitch.

“Ronaldo was out of order and a bigmouth,” said Real Madrid’s Marcelo.

“He elbowed me off the ball, then tried to have a shouting match about it.”

The win, which included a Luis Fabiano hat-trick, was a relief for under-fire coach Dunga, whose team had failed to score in five of their last seven games.

Elano, who also found the net, was quick to rub further salt into Ronaldo’s wounds ahead of the Manchester derby at Eastlands next week.

He said: “Cristiano Ronaldo scores big goals and does excellent exhibitions but for me I would choose Kaka as the world’s number one.

“We certainly overcame Portugal in this duel and I will always help Kaka to overcome Ronaldo.”

Ronaldo is a firm favourite to emulate last year’s winner, Kaka, by lifting both the European and World Player of the Year titles.

“I am the first, second and third best player in the world,” Ronaldo joked earlier this week. “But there are other good candidates, like Kaka, [Lionel] Messi and [Fernando] Torres.”