This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On November 16, 2019, former Manchester United striker Louis Saha opened up about the tumultuous relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy during their time at Old Trafford.
According to Saha, van Nistelrooy's ego was a major factor in the tension between the two players. The Dutchman would often wait for other players to serve him the ball before scoring, which frustrated Ronaldo and Rooney.
"Ruud had that kind of ego: he wanted all the passes," Saha told FourFourTwo.
The situation escalated to the point where van Nistelrooy made Ronaldo cry, with Saha revealing that the incident occurred when Ronaldo's father had passed away.
Van Nistelrooy spent five seasons at Manchester United, scoring 95 goals in 150 appearances for the Premier League club.
However, Saha believes that van Nistelrooy regrets some of his actions towards younger players during his time at Old Trafford.
"Things like that happen when two players have lots of spirit, but I'm sure Ruud regrets some of his words," Saha said.
Despite the challenges he faced, Ronaldo went on to become a legend of the game, scoring a hat-trick in Portugal's 6-0 win over Lithuania in Euro 2020 qualifier.
