Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson came down “hard” on one of his former Manchester United teammates with a ruthless ‘hairdryer treatment.’
The 46-year-old spent the majority of his Manchester United spell under Sir Alex Ferguson after he arrived at Old Trafford from Leeds United in 2002.
United broke the British record transfer at the time after dropping £30m on Rio Ferdinand, with the Red Devils legend enjoying incredible success at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand established himself as a key defensive figure for Sir Alex Ferguson and the former United defender went on to make 455 appearances for the Red Devils.
During his remarkable spell at Old Trafford, Ferdinand lifted six Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and two League Cups with United.
Ferdinand struck up a formidable partnership with Nemanja Vidic in the heart of the United defence and the pair left behind a long-lasting legacy at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand on Ferguson and Man Utd legend
Speaking in the upcoming BBC Sport documentary Sir Alex, Rio Ferdinand recalled one incident involving Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.
Ferguson brought Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford in 2003 and the United legend shot to superstardom during his first playing spell at the Red Devils.
Ronaldo lifted the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards at United alongside three Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
The 39-year-old Portuguese forward was known for his showboating and Ferdinand admitted that Ferguson had enough of Ronaldo “trying too hard” to show off.
“I remember Cristiano in tears in the changing room and I was like, right, this manager don’t care, man. He don’t care who you are,” Ferdinand said, as per BBC Sport.
“I remember we’d been to Portugal and played a couple of games.
“And Cristiano hadn’t played well because he was young and really trying to impress and show why he had gone to Manchester United. Everyone was talking about him and he was trying too hard. It never used to come off.
“I remember we played Benfica away, and the manager ripped into Cristiano.
“‘Who do you think you are? Trying to prove yourself to everybody. Who do you think you are, a superstar?’”
Ferdinand’s reaction to Ferguson’s hairdryer treatment
BBC Sport’s Sir Alex is a two-part documentary and will debut on the BBC iPlayer on Boxing Day, which chronicles the life and career of the former United manager.
Ferdinand insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo deserved the infamous hairdryer treatment from Ferguson and it was highlighted with his transformation as a player.
“He deserved it,” he said in the documentary.
“Look at the player that he became. The manager knew that he could be soft and nice to him, but he had to be hard as well.
“To get to where he got to, to be [the] world’s best player when he left, he needed moments like that.”
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