Ferguson's goalkeeper coach:"This is how he toughened up Ronaldo in practices"

Despite the numerous trophies he won at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will always have strong ties to Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's former goal keeper coach Tony Coton described the legendary manager's relationship with the Portuguese striker in an interview with the Daily Mail:"Ferguson showed right away what he thought of Ronaldo by giving him the number 7, an inconic jersey at Manchester United. But the most important thing was recognizing his weaknesses. One of CR7's defects is that he often fell to the ground. Ferguson started a mission to toughen him up: the members of his staff were encourage to ignore the systematic fouls that were committed on him in practice. It wasn't a game, there were no prisoners taken. So much so that Ronaldo didn't realize which teammate struck him. When the foul wasn't whistled he raised his arms and cursed in Portuguese. It was tough love, but slowly but surely the message came across in Ronaldo's mind"