Rio Ferdinand recalls when Sir Alex Ferguson made Cristiano Ronaldo cry with 'Who d'you think you are?'

Ferguson helped develop the Portuguese into the most talented United player during his time.

Rio Ferdinand shared his memories of an important period in Cristiano Ronaldo’s development. It involved Sir Alex Ferguson who made Cristiano cry in the changing room.

Ronaldo bloomed into one of the finest performers in football after joining Manchester United from Sporting CP in 2003. To this day, he frequently mentions Ferguson as one of the most significant individuals in his career.

Ronaldo produced 145 goals in 346 games throughout two stints at Old Trafford. His tenure under Ferguson turned him from a talented but inconsistent winger into the world’s greatest player by 2009. In 2009, he left to sign a world-record deal with Real Madrid.

During his illustrious time with United, the Portugal star won three straight Premier League titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League, where he also took home the first of his five career Ballon d’Or.

Rio Ferdinand recalls when Sir Alex Ferguson had Cristiano Ronaldo 'in tears' 😧 pic.twitter.com/twhE5HoV5F

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 24, 2024

Ferdinand, who joined United a year before Cristiano Ronaldo did, recalls an instance where Ferguson told the young forward that he would have to prove himself before he could be called a “superstar.”

In fact, the former England captain believes that Ferguson’s skill at man-management is what made Ronaldo the best player in the world by the time he moved to Spain for £80 million.

Speaking to BBC, the centre-back said:

“We’d been to Portugal and played a couple of games, and he hadn’t played well, Cristiano, because he was young, he tried too hard”

“I remember we played Benfica, and the manager ripped into Cristiano. ‘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’.

“And I remember Cristiano in tears in the changing room. And I was like, ‘This manager don’t care, man. He don’t care who you are’.

“But then look at the player that he became. He needed moments like that. And the manager knew that he could be soft and nice with him, but he had to be hard as well to get him to where he got to — the world’s best player when he left,” mentions Ferdinand.

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