How Roy Keane Helped Cristiano Ronaldo 'Transform Into A World-Class Star' At Man United

Former Manchester United man Eric Djemba-Djemba has credited Roy Keane for the vital role he played in helping Cristiano Ronaldo become a world-class star.

Legendary ex-United boss Sir Alex Ferguson ensured the Red Devils landed Ronaldo from Sporting CP in 2003 for £12.24m.

And Ronaldo would cross paths with Keane towards end of the United legend's illustrious time at Old Trafford.

Djemba-Djemba, who also arrived at United in 2003, revealed that the Irishman would be "hard on Ronaldo on the pitch and in training."

However, the 39-year-old Cameroonian insisted that Keane only came down on Ronaldo because he wanted him to become "better."

Djemba-Djemba told BettingApps: "I can definitely say that Keane was hard on Ronaldo on the pitch and in training, because he wanted Ronaldo to get better.

"And he knew that he could get so much better, and to get to where he is now.

"Having someone like Keane get angry at Ronaldo has definitely helped him to become the player he has become in the long run."

Ronaldo, 35, spent six years at Old Trafford and shot to stardom during his time with United.

The Juventus superstar won the first of his five Ballon d'Ors at United and won three Premier League titles and the Champions League with the Red Devils.

Djemba-Djemba also opened up about his experience of seeing Keane lose his cool with United flop Kleberson.

He explained: "Roy Keane had a right go at Kleberson! Kleberson looked like he didn't want to play with his body language, and wanted to play slowly.

"I remember one Champions League game at Old Trafford, we went into the dressing room and Roy Keane was screaming at him!

"He said, 'You need to wake up! You need to give everything, you need to tackle! Why don't you want to want to play? You just won the World Cup! What's happened? You need to play better!'

"It was definitely scary for Kleberson. He was always smiling, and was still smiling when Keane had a go at him, which would have made Keane even more angry."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, red devils, Premier League, Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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