Rio Ferdinand has recalled the moment he watched former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson make Cristiano Ronaldo cry in the dressing room. Ferguson sanctioned United’s move for Ronaldo back in 2003 and the Portugal forward went on to spend six successful seasons at Old Trafford.
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Ronaldo scored over 100 goals during his first spell at the club and helped Fergie’s side win three three Premier League titles, three domestic cups and the Champions League. After leaving to join Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo established himself as not only one of the best players in the world but the best of all time, lifting four more Champions League trophies and five Ballon d’Or awards.
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Ronaldo scored a quite staggering 450 goals in 438 appearances for Madrid, surpassing 50 goals for the season six times in nine years. The all-time great, now 39, has often spoken about the influence Ferguson had on his career, with the pair sharing a special bond following their time together.
But Ferguson was not against sharing some home truths to Ronaldo and made him cry in the dressing room after a Champions League game in 2005. According to another Old Trafford legend, ex-England defender Ferdinand, Fergie was unhappy with Ronaldo’s performance against Benfica as United were knocked out of the Champions League.
In the BBC Sport documentary ‘Sir Alex’, Ferdinand said: ‘We’d been in Portugal and Cristiano hadn’t played well. He was young and tried too hard. ‘I remember we played Benfica, and the manager ripped into Cristiano. He went, “Who d’you think you are? You’re coming in here trying to prove to everybody who you think you are, you think you’re a superstar.”.
