A former Manchester United star has admitted that he and ex-Bafana Bafana international Quinton Fortune used to "bully" Cristiano Ronaldo during their days together at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese superstar joined the Red Devils for the first time back in 2003, as an 18-year-old from Sporting CP.
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Rio Ferdinand had arrived a year earlier from Leeds United, while Fortune was, by then, a seasoned member of the side following his move to the Theatre of Dreams from Atletico Madrid in 1999.
The trio would go on to enjoy a hugely successful spell at the club, laden with trophies.
However, the ex-England defender has now revealed that he and the former South Africa star used to harass Ronaldo behind the scenes, which would result in the Portugal star getting upset almost to the point of tears.
Speaking to Australian radio show Kyle and Jackie O, Ferdinand explained: "Me and a guy called Quinton Fortune – another teammate – we used to take the mick out of him [Ronaldo] a lot.
"He was a lot younger than us at the time – [it was] borderline bullying, maybe, but it was just trying to build him, build that resilience.
"We used to play [table tennis] every other day before training, as part of the warm-up.
"I used to smash him all over the place. He did beat me… it was me and him, [ranked] one and two, like [Roger] Federer and [Rafa] Nadal.
"If it was televised, it would have broken records. He used to, like, almost cry and that, he was so competitive."
No love was lost between the trio, though, with Fortune recently revealing that he wished things had turned out differently for Ronaldo in his most recent stint at Old Trafford.
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Speaking after the 38-year-old left the club in November following an explosive interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, the Cape Town-born SA icon said, per TJ Sports USA: "I would have loved to seen it end in a beautiful way by Ronaldo staying in the club, winning the league, helping them get in the Champions League first, and that wasn't meant to be.
"It would be very strange for them not to love him. You know what Ronaldo has achieved at the club, and I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to be the witness at the beginning when he arrived.
"[He was] such a special player, but what made him better than all the players was his mentality, his self-belief, I've never seen anything like it."
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