‘Who do you think you are’: Sir Alex Ferguson reduced Cristiano Ronaldo to tears after ‘ripping in’ to Man Utd icon
SIR ALEX FERGUSON once reduced Cristiano Ronaldo to tears in front of the rest of the Manchester United squad.
A new documentary about the legendary Scottish manager released on BBC iPlayer Boxing Day, titled “Sir Alex”, saw details of the exchange come to light.
Many of the stars who played under Ferguson were asked for interviews about their time under the 13-time Premier League-winning manager.
One of these was Rio Ferdinand, who starred under Ferguson from 2002 until the 82-year-old’s retirement in 2013.
On the incident between Ferguson and Ronaldo, Ferdinand recalled: “He hadn’t played well, and the manager ripped into Cristiano.
“‘Who do you think you are? You’re coming here trying to prove to everybody who you think you are, you think you’re a superstar’.
“I remember Cristiano in tears and I was like, ‘This manager don’t care, man. He doesn’t care who you are’.”
Ronaldo would go on to win the Ballon d’Or and be named as the world’s best player in 2008 at United.
Ferguson did not experience unprecedented success only at Man Utd.
He had also managed to do so at Aberdeen, winning the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup glory against Real Madrid – still the last time the Spanish giants lost a major European final – and breaking the Celtic-Rangers duopoly of the Scottish Premiership with titles in 1980, 1984 and 1985.
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Former right-back Stuart Kennedy recalled Ferguson’s hairdryer as a “blast furnace”, while Mark McGhee compared it to a “volcano”.
However, speaking about Ferguson in the past, Ronaldo admitted they had many “beautiful moments” together and praised his old manager’s compassion after his father fell ill.
Speaking to United club media in 2021, Ronaldo said: “It’s hard to mention just one [moment].
“There were so many beautiful moments that we had together. Not just winning things. But in my heart I keep the most difficult things.
“Probably he doesn’t remember, but I will say it because it’s a beautiful story.
“One day, my father was in hospital, and I was so emotional, very low. And I spoke with him and he said: ‘Cristiano, go there for two or three days.’
“We had difficult games [coming up],” he continued, “and I was a key player in that moment.
“He said: ‘It will be tough because we have difficult games, but I understand your situation and I’ll leave you [out] and you can go and see your father.’
“For me, these are the most important things – apart from winning Champions Leagues, to win the Premier League, to win cups and stuff.
“So I have to appreciate him, because what he said to me, he always did. I have to appreciate that.”
Inside Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible life
AS arguably the greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo lives a life befitting such a superstar.
Ron loves a fast motor almost as much as scoring goals with his vast car collection including one costing £9MILLION.
Upon moving to Saudi – Ronaldo moved into a luxury skyscraper hotel before swapping it for an Arabian mansion.
As a globetrotter, Ronaldo likes to travel in style like onboard this luxury private jet.
Behind every great man is a great woman, and Ronaldo has one in partner Georgina Rodriguez.
Georgina opened up on the moment they first met when she was working as a shop girl, saying it was “love at first sight”.
Before meeting Georgina, Ronaldo dated some of the world’s hottest women including Kim Kardashian and Irina Shayk.
Now it’s all about the family, with Ronaldo’s offspring now capable of making up a five-a-side team.
Ronaldo’s very well paid on the pitch, but he makes a ton of money off it too with endorsement deals ranging from KFC to his own range of underpants.
He’s also a prolific investor and owns a string of hotels.
He’s currently building a holiday resort in the Red Sea which has been dubbed “a new paradise”.
Ronaldo gives back too – which is one of the reasons he doesn’t have any tattoos.
He’s highly dedicated, as a look inside his health and fitness regime shows.
That dedication saw him transform from a weedy teen to hulking Adonis.
Head here to read more on Cristiano Ronaldo.