Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United players would throw 'jockstraps and boots' at Cristiano Ronaldo while he stood in front of the mirror

'It was a nice vanity'

Sir Alex Ferguson and Cristiano Ronaldo during Manchester United training in 2009 (Getty)

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that players would throw "all sorts of things" at "vain" Cristiano Ronaldo while he stood in front of a mirror.

Those things included boots - and even jockstraps.

"Dealing with an ego doesn’t bother me," Ferguson said in the Daily Telegraph.

"You used to see Ronaldo standing in front of the mirror loving himself. But it was a nice vanity. The players used to throw jockstraps, boots and all sorts at him. It never bothered him one bit.

"They need to win, these guys: the ones that are cultivating their egos a little bit. You might see a player in a Ferrari and think – what’s he driving that for? But he has to live with that. He’s not going to be driving into town when he’s bottom of the league, or he’s been dropped. Some people can’t judge that. True players can."

Ferguson also revealed that he enjoyed working with Eric Cantona and said he never had trouble with the forward, despite the Frenchman having a reputation as being difficult to deal with.

"I spoke to Eric Cantona every day," added Ferguson. "He was a very under-rated man and an interesting man. He needed the encouragement that he was at the right club. And he was at the right club. On the training ground you never got one ounce of difficulty with Cantona.

"Sometimes he would come in for training with his eyebrows down and you would say – what’s wrong with him today? Once he got warmed up, into training, he was fine.

"Ronaldo was another one: a great, great kid. He’s just a serious professional."