Training sessions are fun for soccer players, where they take the field with the whole squad. The sessions are where managers instill their ideas into the players ahead of the games. But occasionally, the training sessions can go far, resulting in some unwanted incidents between the teammates. That’s what Cristiano Ronaldo experienced when he first joined Manchester United in 2003.

United legend Rio Ferdinand recently recalled a few incidents from training sessions at Old Trafford. Ferdinand spoke of one of his teammates going hard on Ronaldo at the time when he first came to Old Trafford. The former United defender also recalled how he intervened and stopped his teammate from kicking the Portuguese.

Rio Ferdinand once stopped his teammate from kicking Cristiano Ronaldo

Ferdinand was on his YouTube channel, FIVE, a few years back, where he talked about training ground bust-ups at Old Trafford. “It was mad at United, things could just switch just like that [clicks fingers] in training. I think all the training grounds are the same. There’s a lot of testosterone flying about. It never really got to that,” Ferdinand said.

“One time something happened with Ruud. Ruud van Nistelrooy smashed Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of times and went down his Achilles. And then the ball went into Ruud, and I smashed Ruud. I said, ‘What are you doing? Why are you kicking him for?’ And then Ruud got up, and he was [not happy], and all the players just got in the way, so nothing happened,” Ferdinand said. 

“But that’s the way it used to be in training. I was thinking, ‘Ronnie’s a young kid man, leave him alone, what you doing?’ but Ruud was an animal, an animal player,” Ferdinand said while recalling the incident between Nistelrooy and Ronaldo.

Ferdinand moved to the United in 2002, a year later when Nistelrooy came. Ronaldo arrived a year later, in 2003, from Sporting Lisbon. Ferdinand is known to have the back of Ronaldo throughout his United days and after. Ronaldo rose to prominence at United and won his first UEFA Champions League and Ballon d’Or at United.  

Where are Ferdinand, Ronaldo, and Nistelrooy now?

Ferdinand and Nistelrooy have already retired from soccer. The former United defender now occasionally appears on TV as a pundit and is active on his YouTube channel. Nistelrooy after stints at Manchester United and Real Madrid, retired in 2012. 

READ MORE: “He Did It With Cristiano”- Former $83.8 Million Teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo Reveals True Nature of Manchester United Boss Erik ten Hag

After retirement, Dutch forward opted for coaching and currently is the first-team manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing at 38. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is with Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr after completing a record-breaking move in January this year.

WATCH THIS STORY: Cristiano Jr’s Insane Training Schedule

Let us know your thoughts on the training ground incident that Ferdinand shared.