Former Manchester United forward Louis Saha has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo was once made to cry during a training session by former Dutch superstar Ruud van Nistelrooy.

As an 18-year-old, Ronaldo went to the Old Tafford at a time when Nistelrooy was at the peak of career and the United fans swore by him.

Advertisement

He was known to be a hungry footballer who would always look for his chances and according to Saha Nistelrooy, being of a similar kind, was not impressed by that.

The two never had a very comfortable time with each other and the rift had once turned hostile when the young Ronaldo was facing a personal issue.

“Ruud had that kind of ego: he wanted all the passes. And sometimes, for the development of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, it was difficult for the manager to deal with,” Saha was quoted as saying to FourFourTwo.

On being asked if Ronaldo actually cried in one such moment, the former French international said, “Yeah, there were stories because I think they ended up in an argument at the moment when Cristiano’s father had passed away, so it wasn’t the right moment. Things like that happen when two players have lots of spirits, but I’m sure Ruud regrets some of his words.”

However, Ronaldo’s greedy character in football did not overshadow the fact that he was a notch above everyone else. Saha, too, admitted that even at the tender age of 18 or 19 Ronaldo was different from others.

“Cristiano was just an animal. I don’t know if you can say that he was a human! You could see from when he was 18 or 19 that this guy was not normal,” Saha said.