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Cristiano Ronaldo hated Man Utd rule introduced by Walter Smith under Sir Alex Ferguson
Cristiano Ronaldo improved considerably during his time at Manchester United but he hated one rule that was introduced by coach Walter Smith.
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Cristiano Ronaldo achieved a lot under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but he hated a rule that was introduced by coach Walter Smith because of how the Portgual international was playing.
Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford as an 18-year-old in a deal worth just over £12million with Sporting Lisbon in 2003.
However, Ronaldo's former United team-mate Darren Fletcher has admitted the youngster was quickly put in his place about how he needed to play when wearing a Red Devils jersey.
"There were times he was holding on to the ball too much and his decision-making wasn’t there yet," Fletcher told The Lockdown Tactics.
"He had a tough time, he got told a few home truths."
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Fletcher also praised fellow Scot Walter Smith for the work he did during his time as a coach at United and admitted that a rule he introduced in training ended up improving Ronaldo's game.
Smith removed fouls from training, which angered Ronaldo, but Fletcher believes the Portuguese winger's all-round game improved as a result.
“Walter came in and he basically decided to not give fouls in training," Fletcher added.
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"And I know it was definitely for Ronaldo.
“The boys were flying into each other and Ronnie was getting lumps kicked out of him.
“Before you wouldn’t get soft fouls but you would get a foul, he’d be taking the mick, draw a foul, win it, laugh, get the ball.
“So Walter just decided there were no fouls now in training. Ronaldo for two weeks was going bananas, ‘who’s this Scottish guy? What is this?’
“Basically, the lads tackled you anyway at United, but if you knew there wasn’t going to be a foul.
“Honestly, it’s amazing how quickly Ronnie started moving the ball and running because he knew he wasn’t going to get a foul, so there was no point hanging on to it.
“And then he started to score more goals and get in more goalscoring positions.
"Listen, it’s a small little thing but I feel the second half of the season under Walter Smith he made a big step."
During his time at United Ronaldo scored 118 goals and provided 69 assists in 292 appearances in all competitions.
He went on to win numerous pieces of silverware with United, including three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the first of his five Ballon d'Or trophies in 2008.