Cristiano Ronaldo needed a translator to speak to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and still doesn't understand him
Ronaldo admits his Glaswegian accent leaves him struggling to understand what the former United manager is saying
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Your support makes all the difference.Cristiano Ronaldo has credited former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a “father” figure during his playing career, yet revealed that he still has no idea what he’s saying because of his Scottish accent.
Ronaldo appeared on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show to publicise his new self-titled film Ronaldo: The Man, where he said that Ferguson’s Glaswegian accent was so strong he need a translator despite understanding English in his early days at Old Trafford.
"I still don't understand him. In the beginning, I had a translator, a Brazilian man, of course, basically only for him," Ronaldo said.
But the Real Madrid superstar went on to explain why he praises Ferguson as the best coach in the world. It stems back to when his own father, who suffered from alcoholism, was ill back home in Portugal.
Ronaldo approached Ferguson to tell him he needed to return to his homeland to be with his father, and Ferguson’s response has stayed with 30-year-old Ronaldo to this day.
"I just have to say thank you for what (Ferguson) did for me," Ronaldo continued.
It was the most important time in my life and he shared it with me
"We had an important game in the Champions League and I said, 'Coach I need to go to see my daddy' and I was a key player, I was a very important player and he said, 'Listen, your personal life, your family is the important thing that you have in your life. If you want to go three days, four days, five days you can go.'
"This moment is what I keep for me because it was the most important time in my life and he shared it with me. This is why I respect him and for me he's the best coach I ever had."
One figure who was prevalent in Ronaldo’s appearance at the London premiere of him film was his mother, but Ronaldo also explained how he has had to ban her from watching his biggest matches because of the nerves she suffers when he takes to the field.
"I just make a rule, big games she cannot watch," he said.
"It's true, I don't take her to my box or I put someone in the home to go and walk with her when the game starts. It's the solution... I understand my family cannot deal (with it) because it's difficult when press start to speak on television all the time..."
The Jonathan Ross Show airs at 9.45pm on Saturday, November 14.
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