Former Manchester United star claims Sir Alex Ferguson changed his approach to player management after Cristiano Ronaldo incident

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has outlined how an incident with Cristiano Ronaldo prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to change his management approach. The legendary Scot was in charge of the Red Devils for more than 26 years and is among the club's greatest ever managers.

Sir Alex worked with some tremendous players during his managerial career, many of whom had been at the receiving end of his famous 'hairdryer' treatment. The fiery Scot also shaped Cristiano Ronaldo's career at Manchester United, transforming him from a lanky teenager to one of the best in the world.

Speaking on The Overlap, Vidic revealed that the legendary manager changed his approach after the Portuguese didn't respond well to his management style.

“With the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson], I never had a close relationship. If he asked me something I would tell him, but I never had that [relationship]. Rio [Ferdinand] or Fletch [Darren Fletcher] would talk more. What he realised – it’s not that he didn’t shout at me because he was scared of anyone, but he realised that with certain players, it would not help if he’s shouting," said Vidic.

He continued:

“I think he changed that after he shouted at Cristiano Ronaldo. I don’t think Ronaldo took it well – maybe good for the English and British players, but he was careful with the foreign players.”

Ronaldo arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 2003 from Sporting, and the rest, as they say, is history.

How many goals did Cristiano Ronaldo score for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson?

Cristiano Ronaldo spent six seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, scoring 118 goals and setting up 63 more from 292 games. The Portuguese won the Premier League thrice, and the first of his five UEFA Champions League titles with the Red Devils.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also won the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the Community Shield, and the FIFA Club World Cup during his stay. Ronaldo left the English giants in the summer of 2009 to complete his dream move to Real Madrid.

The Portuguese superstar went on to spend nine seasons with Los Blancos, registering 451 goals from 438 games to become the club's record goalscorer. He left in 2018 to join Juventus, and returned to Manchester United after three seasons in Turin. However, the 40-year-old had an underwhelming stay and left to join Al-Nassr in December 2022.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit