Cristiano Ronaldo's hilarious response to Nani after Fergie's hairdryer treatment

Martin Macdonald

• 10 Oct 2025 11:01 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Sir Alex Ferguson is known for being one of the greatest football managers of all time.

As well as being known for his success with Manchester United, though, he is also known for his fiery temper.

As tales of the temper started to surface, it was eventually labelled as 'the hairdryer treatment' as the legendary Scot would scream at his players in the changing room if things weren't going to plan on a particular day.

Nobody was exempt from these rants. In fact, it was usually the flair players like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo that had to bear the brunt of the manager's anger.

When Nani first arrived at Man Utd, Ronaldo was there to translate for his Portuguese colleague. CR7 even had to tell his team-mate what Ferguson was saying on occasion - not that Nani wanted to know!

"When I moved to Manchester, I got to work with Carlos Queiroz and Alex Ferguson," Nani said in an interview with O Jogo.

"It was a completely different world — everyone spoke only English. When Ferguson talked, I couldn’t understand a word. I’d just watch his facial expressions — and honestly, they scared me. I’d ask Cristiano [Ronaldo] what he was saying, and he’d go, ‘You don’t even want to know.’ I’d get nervous — I had to know what he said.

"Once I started learning English, he was always giving me a hard time. Nani wasn’t easy — I can admit that. I’ve always had a strong personality. Whenever a teammate confronted me, I couldn’t stay quiet; there was always some friction because I never backed down from anything. Ferguson would come in wearing his slippers, making noise — and that alone was intimidating. He’d say, ‘Nani, if you do this again, you won’t play anymore. Not even for the B team. I’ll put you on a plane back to Portugal, and you’ll never play again.’"

Nani reveals that he ultimately earned Ferguson's respect and the pair became close.

"I’d be tense, thinking about that for three days straight. Then I’d loosen up again, joking around with Cristiano and Anderson [former FC Porto player]. Later, I understood why he was always calling me out. We started having more one-on-one conversations, and he’d tell me, ‘Son, come on, you know the expectations I have for you. You should’ve decided the match on Saturday.’

"[Patrice] Evra once told me, ‘You know that for Ferguson, it’s you and ten others — he really believes in you.’ So if he was tough on me, it was because he expected something from me. That gave me confidence, and everything started to flow in the best way possible. I had my best season — lots of goals and assists.

"Ferguson even came to Portugal later. We sat by the river, and he told me all his stories. I also visited his office in Manchester. It’s great to look back and see the coaches who truly shaped my career.”

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