Saha Reveals Why Ruud van Nistelrooy Made Cristiano Ronaldo Cry
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has revealed the time when Ruud van Nistelrooy made a young Cristiano Ronaldo cry during a training ground row.
While discussing the recent Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez row, Saha has told the story of an argument he witnessed back in the day.
"Ruud had that kind of ego: he wanted all the passes," Saha said in an interview with Four Four Two.
He continued, "And sometimes, for the development of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, it was difficult for the manager to deal with."
Revealing whether Van Nistelrooy made Ronaldo cry, Saha said, "Did Ruud make Ronaldo cry? Yeah, there were stories because I think they ended up in an argument at the moment when Cristiano's father had passed away, so it wasn't the right moment."
He concluded, "Things like that happen when two players have lots of spirit, but I'm sure Ruud regrets some of his words."
Ronaldo's father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, died of alcoholism in 2005 and sadly missed the majority of his son's many successes and triumphs in the game.
Then, former Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell, a good friend of Ferguson's, shed light on the situation in his book.
As reported by the Times, Campbell wrote the following regarding the Dutchman's departure,
"The last straw was when he told Cristiano Ronaldo he had found a new dad in Carlos [Queiroz, Ferguson's assistant] just after Ronaldo's dad, who was an alcoholic, had died."
"Carlos asked him to show respect and he said he didn't respect anyone there. He later apologised but CR was not having it. Alex sent Van Nistelrooy home when he heard about it later. He was not sure what he was going to do with him."