Ibrahim Oladamola
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo would often come close to tears whenever he was beaten at table tennis before training.
The two would play against each other most mornings, with Ferdinand winning more often. Ronaldo, who was a teenager at the time, used to get frustrated losing against Ferdinand, showing how competitive he has always been on-and-off the pitch.
Ferdinand said the squad would mock Ronaldo for being competitive and taking hard losses. Speaking on the Kyle and Jackie O radio show, Ferdinand said, “We used to play every other day before training, as part of the warm-up. I used to smash him all over the place.”
The former England international also believes their competitive table tennis sessions could have broken records had they been broadcasted. He also revealed how Ronaldo would sometimes cry, which explains how competitive he was even when he was just a teenage kid. Ferdinand added:”He did beat me… it was me and him, [ranked] one and two, like [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal. If it was televised, it would have broken records. He used to, like, almost cry and that, he was so competitive.”Ferdinand also noted that the teasing Ronaldo received was ‘borderline bullying’ but said it helped build the Portuguese superstar’s resilience. The two were teammates for six seasons at Manchester United, winning several trophies together before Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid in 2009.
Despite the teasing, Ronaldo’s competitiveness has helped him become one of the greatest footballers of all time. He has won numerous individual awards, including five Ballon d’Or trophies.
