Rio Ferdinand has joked that a young Cristiano Ronaldo would "almost cry" when beaten at table tennis at Manchester United.
The Portuguese star arrived at Old Trafford as a teenager in 2003, but later morphed into the world's finest player. His quality was evident at a tender age and his drive to improve also recognised. Ferdinand has claimed that he helped build the player's resilience by "borderline bullying" him.
Ronaldo, even nowadays, is known for his competitiveness so losing at a game of table tennis didn't sit well with him. Ferdinand claims he was the best player, with Ronaldo a close second, but defeats didn't go down well with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Ferdinand told the Kyle and Jackie O radio show on Friday: "Me and a guy called Quinton Fortune - another [Manchester United] teammate - we used to take the mick out of him a lot. He was a lot younger than us at the time - borderline bullying, maybe, but it was just trying to, like, build him, build that resilience.
"We used to play every other day before training, as part of the warm-up. I used to smash him all over the place. He did beat me ... it was me and him, [ranked] one and two, like Federer and Nadal. If it was televised, it would have broken records. He used to, like, almost cry and that, he was so competitive."
Ronaldo and Ferdinand were team-mates up until the former's departure in 2009. The pundit's affection for the Red Devils is clear to see on air and he long defended Ronaldo during his turbulent end at Old Trafford with the forward praising Ferdinand's influence on him as a youngster, as well as his loyalty later on.
He said last year: “ Rio Ferdinand helped me a lot. He was my neighbour, I was his neighbour. So very, very good guys. Not just because they speak good about me, but they were there in the dressing room. They are football players. They know how players think and behave, etc.”
Ferdinand has continued to back his former team-mate despite the manner of his sudden departure from Manchester. Ronaldo's decision to move to Saudi Arabia then copped criticism, given his perceived quality and the riches on offer.
He old Vibe with FIVE : "I’m pleased for him that he’s finally happy. For any footballer whatever level you’re playing in, happiness and being happy in the environment you’re playing in is one of the most important things. He hasn’t been happy for a while so I’m pleased he’s on the verge of finding that happiness, albeit in a country that not many people expected him to go to."
