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Ryan Giggs called Cristiano Ronaldo the best he ever played with at Manchester United, revealing how Sir Alex Ferguson protected him during a difficult first year.
Ryan Giggs has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player he ever played with at Manchester United, while shedding light on the Portuguese star’s tough start to life in England.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on the latest episode of Rio Meets, Giggs praised Ronaldo’s incredible development but recalled how he initially struggled with the physicality and intensity of the Premier League.
Giggs shared a training ground memory when Sir Alex Ferguson warned him after a heavy tackle on Ronaldo:
“I remember sprinting across in one game in the winter and I took Cristiano out. The manager went mad. I’ve gone, ‘It’s a tackle, gaffer,’ and he’s gone, ‘I know, yeah, but just take care. He’s a special player.’”
Although Ferguson protected Ronaldo at times, Giggs revealed that in training, the youngster was not given fouls easily when he overplayed, helping toughen him up for English football.
“The first year was hard for him,” Giggs said. “In training, if he took too many touches, he was getting kicked. The gaffer wasn’t giving fouls.”
Asked whether Ferguson instructed senior players to toughen Ronaldo up, Giggs replied: “I don’t think he needed to. I think we already did it.”
Ronaldo would go on to transform from a showboating winger into a consistent goal machine and one of the greatest players in football history. Now, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, preparing for his next match against Yokohama F. Marinos in the Asian Champions League on Saturday.