Cristiano Ronaldo may have been the guy at Manchester United – but his superstar status didn't protect him from dressing room ridicule.
Rio Ferdinand, who played alongside Ronaldo for six successful seasons, claims that he and his colleagues would use David Beckham's legacy to tease the young forward until he would "flip out". Ronaldo signed with United in 2003 when he was just 18-years-old and he was immediately given the iconic No.7 shirt, previously worn by legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Beckham.
In essence, he had big boots to fill. And while it didn't take him long to rise to the occasion, Ferdinand and his team-mates weren't going to give him an easy ride, aware of what fans expected from United stars who wore the shirt.
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While speaking to Beckham, whose transfer to Real Madrid in 2003 freed up the No.7 shirt for Ronaldo to take, on the Rio Presents podcast, the ex-England defender said Ronaldo didn't appreciate the ribbing, especially when Beckham was brought up.
"We used to hammer him about the No.7 shirt," Ferdinand said. "Because obviously he took it and he knew the history with you before. And we used to say to him, 'The real No.7 is Becks' when he was having a bad time, and he used to flip out."
Ferdinand was no stranger to riling Ronaldo up. Last year, he claimed the five-time Ballon d'Or winner would "cry" whenever he lost at table tennis at United's training ground. Rio and his pals knew exactly how to push his buttons.
"Me and a guy called Quinton Fortune, another team-mate, we used to
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