‘Father figure’ Sir Alex made Ronaldo cry
LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo broke down crying in the Manchester United dressingroom early in his career after struggling to cope with Sir Alex Ferguson’s harsh treatment, a new biography has revealed.
Ronaldo, now at Real Madrid and considered one of the two best players in the world, has long credited Ferguson’s legendary methods in helping him to the top during their time together at Old Trafford.
And it seems the former United manager sought to get the best out of his greatest-ever talent by emotionally testing him in the unforgiving and relentless dressingroom environment during his time in charge.
Ferguson recognises Ronaldo as one of just four “world-class” talents that he had at his disposal in his 27year trophy-laden reign at United – Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were the other three – but clearly felt that the Portuguese forward needed reminding of his responsibilities.
The Scottish boss signed Ronaldo as an 18-year-old and in his first season, after a poor showing back in his homeland against Benfica, Ferguson is said to have torn into his young talent.
Guillem
Balagué’s
book, published in the Telegraph, reads: “In the dressingroom, Ferguson could not contain himself: ‘Who do you think you are? Trying to play by yourself ? You’ll never be a player if you do this!’ Ronaldo began to cry. The other players left him be. ‘He needed to learn,’ said (Rio) Ferdinand. ‘ That was a message from the team, not just from Ferguson: Everyone thought he needed to learn’.”
Ferguson’s treatment began to bring the best out of Ronaldo in training and increasingly with the first team in matches.
Established players including Ferdinand and Quinton Fortune would reportedly remind him of his tears in Lisbon with comments such as: “He’s crying in the changingroom again!”, “F*** off ! What are you talking about?” and “Cry-baby, cry-baby!”.
Ronaldo labelled Ferguson as a “father figure” in a BBC documentary looking back over the Scot’s career last month, but in the early days at Old Trafford that was as much a jibe at the player as a compliment to the manager.
Ferguson would treat Ronaldo differently to other players, criticising him in front of teammates but giving him time to explain his reasoning to develop the world’s best upand-coming talent.
Balagué’s book, CRISTIANO RONALDO: The Biography by Guillem Balagué, to be released on November 5, says: “Ferguson had never treated any other player with the same respect and affection as he did Ronaldo. The squad would make jokes about the special relationship with a mixture of laughter and envy: ‘He’s your dad; he’s your dad!’.”
Ronaldo went on to make 292 appearances for United, scoring 118 goals across a sixyear spell which saw him winning the Premier League three times, the Champions League, one FA Cup and two League Cups before his £80million move to Madrid. – Daily Mail