• Home
  • /
  • Football
  • /
  • Ferdinand Reveals Early Ronaldo Argument That Helped Steer Him Towards Stardom

Ferdinand Reveals Early Ronaldo Argument That Helped Steer Him Towards Stardom

Ferdinand Reveals Early Ronaldo Argument That Helped Steer Him Towards Stardom
Gary Connaughton
By Gary Connaughton
Share this article

While Cristiano Ronaldo was a supremely talented youngster when he arrived at Manchester United, it did take a couple of years before things really clicked for him at Old Trafford.

During his early days in England he had a reputation as a flair player, somebody who could produce some moments of magic but lacked consistency. His propensity to go down easy also didn't help in this regard.

Slowly, this began to change. Ronaldo would establish himself as a goalscoring force and win his first Ballon d'Or while still a United player. We all know the career he would go on to have after leaving the club.

Recommended

The culture at Manchester United certainly had a role to play in moulding his mindset. Speaking on BT Sport, Rio Ferdinand said the Portuguese forward always had something special about him. He also believes that the challenges set by his teammates played a part, with one confrontation with Ruud van Nistelrooy the perfect example.

Advertisement

He used to get snapped in training, people would kick the hell out of him in training.

I remember one time, it was a good for him but he didn't take it too well. Ruud van Nistelrooy was the man at Manchester United at the time when (Ronaldo) came, he scored all the goals.

Ronaldo had the ball out wide and was doing tricks, Ruud was making runs in the box and the ball wouldn't come in. As a striker, if the ball doesn't come in when you make a run, you've got to make four runs before you get it. It's frustrating.

Ruud went crazy, screaming 'he should be in the circus, he shouldn't be on the pitch'. Ruud walked in off the training pitch. Ronaldo got angry and upset and said 'why is he talking about me like that, it's out of order'. He had something in there...

Some kids at that age would have gone under and thought 'I'm just going to pass it or get rid of it', or it's 'forget what he's saying, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing'...

With Cristiano the intelligence was a key factor. Over time, he was like 'he might be right'. It wasn't overnight, but then it was about statistics, goals, and 'what's going to make me the best player in the world'.

It's fair to say it worked out for him in the end.

With the player now close to a return to Manchester United, the club look set to benefit from this elite mentality once again.

SEE ALSO: What The Hell Is Going On With Cristiano Ronaldo? Here's What We Know

Advertisement

 

Join The Monday Club Have a tip or something brilliant you wanted to share on? We're looking for loyal Balls readers free-to-join members club where top tipsters can win prizes and Balls merchandise

Processing your request...

You are now subscribed!

Share this article

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com

Advertisement