“Who the hell do you think you are?” When Cristiano Ronaldo received the hairdryer treatment Manchester United’s boss
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Once the greatest manager of Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson gave Cristiano Ronaldo the hairdryer treatment. For each of his four professional clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo has worked with a variety of coaches, although he did not get along with Rafael Benitez at Real Madrid or Maurizio Sarri at Juventus. According to insiders, it was because they treated him like a “regular athlete,” and Ronaldo requires love and attention.
Ferguson was one of the men who eventually mastered this. Ferguson is referred as a “father figure,” by Cristiano Ronaldo and the two continue to have a close relationship. But that doesn’t mean he was spared from the famed hairdryer treatment.
Rio Ferdinand, who shared a team with Ronaldo and won three Premier League championships and a Champions League, recounted the incident last year. In a crucial Group D match during the 2005–06 season, United travelled to Lisbon, the home of Benfica. Of course, Ronaldo had been a Sporting Lisbon player and was getting himself wound up for the occasion as Ferdinand recalls.
“The game became the Cristiano Ronaldo show,” Ferdinand said: “He was trying to show his skills and nothing was coming off. We lost and afterwards the manager absolutely destroyed him. ‘Playing by yourself? Who the hell do you think you are?’.” The player would later find that it served as a solidifying experience and an open lesson that he learned.
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Sir Alex Ferguson had a significant influence on Cristiano Ronaldo
The former defender and current analyst, who played on that awful night in the Estadio da Luz in a lineup that included Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, and van Nistelrooy, claims that Sir Alex Ferguson had a significant influence on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ferdinand continued: “Ferguson was brave to do that. He knew Ronaldo was the key to us winning anything. A lot of managers would have been scared of taking him on.
“I never saw England managers hammering David Beckham like that, or Steven Gerrard, or Frank Lampard, or Wayne Rooney.
“But Ferguson would go for anyone. It didn’t matter if you were the main man, he’d open you up if you needed it.”
Ronaldo is back at United but has yet to register a Premier League goal for the year. In the summer, he made an attempt to emigrate in quest of Champions League football. His United contract is slated to end in 2023 and there were no suitors in Europe.
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Ferguson, who oversaw United for 26 years, was renowned for his hot temper and no-nonsense approach to the media. The illustrious Scot sought total control and, aware of the scrutiny his players would face, shielded them whenever possible.
In 2007, after United defeated Middlesbrough 1-0 in the FA Cup, Shreeves refused to comply and questioned the home team’s victor. Many onlookers thought Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty, which he successfully converted, was soft. Although Shreeves saw no danger in questioning Ronaldo about the incident, word soon reached Ferguson.
According to a passage from “Cheers, Geoff! Tales from the Touchline” provided to the sources, Shreeves: “He [Ferguson] stood up for his players, as I discovered after an FA Cup win over Middlesbrough when Cristiano Ronaldo went tumbling to win a penalty.
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Ujan Chakraborty
(1240 Articles Published)