Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were furious after a former Manchester United star beat their fitness test scores on his first day at the Premier League club.
That is according to Rio Ferdinand, who recalled the “funny” incident involving Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo during their time at Manchester United.
Rooney and Ronaldo were both known for their elite mentality at the Red Devils and their incredible work ethic when it came to training sessions at the club.
Ronaldo shot to superstardom during his first run at Old Trafford after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from Portuguese side Sporting CP in 2003.
The 39-year-old lifted the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards during his prolific spell under legendary former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo captured three Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups with United before his blockbuster move to Real Madrid.
During his first spell at Old Trafford, Ronaldo forged a formidable – and memorable – trident attack force alongside Carlos Tevez and Rooney.
United and England legend Rooney had an illustrious playing career at the Red Devils and is widely considered as one of the best strikers of all time.
Signed from Everton in 2004, the 38-year-old former United striker surpassed club legend Sir Bobby Charlton to become the Red Devils’ all-time leading scorer.
Ferdinand on Ronaldo and Rooney reaction
Speaking on UEFA’s YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand sat down with former Manchester United teammate Owen Hargreaves for the ‘legends lounge’ show.
Owen Hargreaves arrived at Old Trafford in 2007 after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from German side Bayern Munich for a fee of around £17m.
The 43-year-old former England midfielder impressed during his spell at Old Trafford, but Hargreaves’ time at United was plagued by injuries.
Ferdinand recalled the time when Hargreaves first signed for United and how the former Bayern Munich star bossed a fitness test at the Red Devils.
The former England and United defender admitted that both Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were furious that Hargreaves came above them in the test.
“When he [Hargreaves] signed with United, we were at the training ground after [fitness] testing on the first day,” Ferdinand said.
“We all knew him from England [camp], but many of the others had no idea who he was [at the time].
“I remember Wazza running into the changing room and going, ‘No, this is wrong. How is Owen at the top of the charts with the sprints?’ Cristiano was also like, ‘What is this? Come on!’ It was funny.”
Hargreaves on Man Utd legend Rooney in training
Hargreaves played alongside Rooney for both England and United and admitted that his former teammate would blow people away with what he did in training.
Speaking to Warner Bros Discovery (via TNT Sport in 2022), he said: “He was super special, Wayne.
“He played at a level which was really abnormal for such a young kid. Even us as players, his teammates, we were looking at him thinking, ‘This is crazy.’
“In training, he would do stuff. I remember he did something in training once, and the whole training stopped, and everybody gave him a round of applause. I’ve never seen that ever, ever before.”
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