CRISTIANO RONALDO and Rio Ferdinand were beside themselves as they recalled their Manchester United team-mates nicknames.
It was Ronaldo who first called Wayne Rooney “Shrek” when the Portgual ace and Ferdinand starred in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the 2000s.
Ronaldo and Ferdinand won three Premier League titles and a Champions League together among other major honours.
But away from all the trophy triumphs on the pitch, United’s team had a humorous side off it.
The pair spoke on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast a week after the former defender featured on Ronaldo’s first YouTube show.
Ferdinand asked: “Can you remember any of the players nicknames at United?”
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A smiling Ronaldo replied: “A few. Wazza. Rat. Shrek”, before the two burst out in hysterics.
Ferdinand then responded: “I forgot about that, Wazza won’t be happy.”
The former England centre-back hilariously revealed that Anderson was called ‘J-Lo’ or ‘Beyonce’ after his team-mates thought he had a “bum”.
Nani was called ‘Naanbread’ by Ferdinand, while everybody called Scholesy ‘Ginger’ or ‘SatNav’ for his outrageous passing ability and Gary Neville ‘Busy’.
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John O’Shea didn’t have a nickname per se, but Ronaldo used to “kill him in the dressing room”.
Ferdinand hilariously coached Ronaldo on: “What did you used to say about O’Shea?”
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner cracked up and smiled, before saying: “No bum!”
Ronaldo, who also revealed he still “loves United”, also explained how his early years at United changed his perspective and priorities as he developed from a tricky, showboating winger to an out-and-out No9.
The Portugal star said: “My mindset changed. Goals became more important than f****** step-overs.
“I closed that chapter because I realised goals and helping the team was more important.”
The 39-year-old, who recently notched his 900 career goal, also slammed Erik ten Hag for saying United cannot win the Prem or Champions League.
He said: “As Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the League or Champions League.
“You have to be, to mentally say, listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try. You have to try. But they need to rebuild everything.”
Ten Hag since responded to the dig stating: “Ronaldo said that United can’t win the Premier League. He said this if you read the article.
“He’s far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester. Everyone can have an opinion. It’s okay.”
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Elsewhere, Anderson has been hit with a string of controversies and a former team-mate claimed the retired midfielder was obsessed with McDonalds.
The Brazilian is also reportedly facing jail time over his reported failure to pay child maintenance.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
