CRISTIANO RONALDO and Rio Ferdinand couldn’t help but have a chuckle as they reminisced about seeing Nani cry.
The pair were team-mates with the veteran winger for two seasons when he plied his trade with Manchester United from 2007 until 2015.
REUTERSCristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Nani were team-mates at Manchester United[/caption]
Nani often showed his emotions when things didn’t go United’s wayNEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD
YOUTUBE@URCRISTIANOOFFICIALFerdinand and Ronaldo couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory of Nani crying after matches[/caption]
But they have seemingly ribbed the Portuguese forward for his reaction to losing games and his occasional shedding of a tear, which he did during United’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in 2011.
“Do you remember when Nani used to cry?” Ferdinand asked during an appearance on Ronaldo‘s YouTube channel. “We’d slap him.”
Ronaldo then burst out into laughter before saying of his former Portugal team-mate: Nani, yes.”
Ferdinand then suggested Nani wasn’t the only one to get emotional when things didn’t go United’s way.
The 45-year-old added: “He used to cry, man. Anderson [as well] flipping hell.
Ronaldo smiled in agreeance as he said: ‘Yes, yes.”
Nani – who is seeing out his career in his homeland with Estrela Amadora – made 230 appearances for United over the course of eight seasons at Old Trafford.
He scored 40 goals for the Red Devils, a haul which included some absolutely stunning strikes.
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Ferdinand, like many others, was blown away by Nani’s skills and his ability to strike the ball.
But he can’t quite put his finger on the reason why the winger never fulfilled his potential.
He said: “I’ve never seen a player hit the ball as clean with both feet as powerful and as hard as Nani.
“[His] sheer power was mad. The thing that I think Nani lacked, he was a good professional, he didn’t drink a lot.
“But there was something that stopped him from having ultimate consistency.”
The retired defender continued: “He could hit five shots and two could be on target, two could be way off it or two may go close.
“It was hard for him to find that consistency compared to [Wayne] Rooney or Ronaldo, that’s what set him [behind].
“Pure ability wise, I’d take that and give someone else’s mindset [to Nani].”
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