Ronaldo "used to cry" at United playing ping pong

Rio Ferdinand told one of the many stories he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo. Both played at Manchester United for six years between 2003 and 2009, when Alex Ferguson was in charge.

The famous English defender admitted in an interview with Australian radio programme 'Kyle and Jackie 0' that the Portuguese man "used to almost cry and that" when playing table tennis: "Quinton Fortune and I used to really annoy him. He was a lot younger than us at the time, but I was trying to build up the resilience he has now".

Ferdinand explained the whole story with Ronaldo: "We used to play every couple of days before training as part of the warm-up, and I beat him every time. He beat me once or twice, but Quinton and I were like Federer and Nadal. If it had been on TV, it would've broken records. He used to almost cry and all that, he was already really competitive".

The story of the Portuguese star at Old Trafford did not have a particularly happy ending. The current Al Nassr talisman in the Saudi League found himself relegated to a secondary role once Erik ten Hag arrived at the Red Devils. What's more, when he surprisingly attacked the club in an interview, the side put an end to his second stint in Manchester.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a go at the Dutch manager in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan: "I've felt betrayed. I don't respect Erik, because he doesn't show me respect. If he doesn't respect me, I'm never going to respect him. Manchester United tried to forze me to leave, not just my manager".

 

March 23, 2023