“He enjoyed it and knew what he was doing” – Wayne Rooney reveals how Alex Ferguson blasted him to stop ‘tears’ from Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson used to blast him to prevent tears from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani during their time together at Old Trafford. The Englishman recalls the Portuguese duo used to lose balls constantly during games and the tactician would rather lash out at him to pass a message across.

Wayne Rooney told LADbible, as quoted by Manchester Evening News:

"We actually had [an argument] I'd say almost every game at half-time. He would see how the game was going. He'd have a go at me. If Nani or Cristiano [Ronaldo] was dribbling along, losing the ball, he'd come in at half-time and have a go at me for dribbling. And he knew that would get me fired up."

"I'm looking, thinking; 'Are you joking here? I've got these two dribbling constantly and losing the ball and you're having a go at me.' Then I'd go back at him. But he knew that'd get a good reaction out of me and that was his way of saying to these two, 'Stop dribbling with the ball.'"

Wayne Rooney further explained that that technique from Sir Alex Ferguson didn't only stop Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani from shedding tears, it also got the whole squad fired up. The Englishman said:

"If he said it to these two, there'd probably be tears. He enjoyed it and knew what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing. He enjoyed us having a go back because he knew that'd fire the rest of the players up. He knew I played on the edge, especially at that time. And he knew that'd get me going."

The Portuguese joined the Red Devils for the second time last summer

Cristiano Ronaldo's second Manchester United spell so far in numbers

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in style last summer and he's wasted no time in making his impact felt. So far, he's made 25 appearances for the Premier League giants across all competitions, recording 14 goals and three assists.

The Portuguese will get the opportunity to add to that tally as the Red Devils face Southampton in the English top-flight today. It remains to be seen if he' will manage to find the back of the net or set up a teammate.