“He didn’t know when to release the ball” - Danny Simpson names one former Manchester United star who was constantly shouting at Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United defender Danny Simpson has opened up on how Cristiano Ronaldo was helped by senior players at Old Trafford. The Portuguese superstar joined the Red Devils as a teenager in 2003 and went on to become one of the best players of all time.

Danny Simpson saw Cristiano Ronaldo's developement as a young player and has highlighted how established Manchester United players always guided him. The ex-Leicester City full-back has claimed that Gary Neville shouted at the now Al-Nassr superstar constantly.

Simpson has admitted that he could not have predicted Ronaldo to have such a glittering career and still remain at the top aged 40. Speaking in association with MightyTips, he told GOAL:

“No, to be honest! There is no way if you said to me he’s 40 years-plus still going strong - not just in Saudi, but for his national team. He still looks as fit as ever. OK, he’s changed his game. But did I ever see him being that fox-in-the-box at that age? No. When he came in, I remember times when the lads were shouting at him constantly - Gary Neville etcetera. He didn’t know when to release the ball, he didn’t know when to cross it, he didn’t have all that stuff. He had all that ability but it was just putting it together and making the right decisions at the right times. I think that’s why being surrounded by those players was so good - [Paul] Scholes, [Ryan] Giggs. Being around them every day, he was learning off them."

Simpson added:

“There was one summer he came back, from the period being off, and it was a complete transformation - he was just massive! It was like ‘what have you been eating?’ I think he realised, because that’s what he does, I’m going to get kicked, I’m going to get pushed, so he was working every day in the gym on his ankles, balance. He came back stronger. You can’t write him off! He does everything right - from his diet when he was young. He had a private chef and we were like: ‘Private chef? Why have you got a private chef?’ He started that whole looking after himself, sleeping patterns, recovery ice baths, and he’s still doing it now.”

Danny Simpson could not make the grade at Manchester United and only featured eight times for his boyhood club. He shared the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo on six occasions.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, achieved an iconic status in the game thanks to his stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is also the highest appearance maker in international football and also the highest goalscorer with 143 goals in 225 games for Portugal. With 949 goals to his name, Cristiano Ronaldo is also the highest scoring footballer of all time.

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Rio Ferdinand opens up on why Cristiano Ronaldo does not talk too much in the Manchester United icons WhatsApp group

Rio Ferdinand has revealed why Cristiano Ronaldo does not respond in their WhatsApp group. The former England defender has claimed that Ronaldo views Ferdinand as a journalist and jokes that he would publish his comments in the media.

Ferdinand, who appears on TV as a pundit and also has his own podcast channel, claims that the Ronaldo fears that his messages would get revealed in public. The former Manchester United defender told The Times:

“It’s funny because Cristiano [Ronaldo] calls me a journalist now. He messaged me saying, ‘Now I can’t say too much in the United WhatsApp group, Rio’s in there. Rio the journalist!'”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand were both key players for Manchester United for a considerable period under Sir Alex Ferguson. They shared the pitch on 221 occasions for the Red Devils.