Nani Lived With ‘Competitive’ Cristiano Ronaldo While at Man Utd

· GiveMeSport

Luis Nani once recalled how competitive former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo remained in his downtime while living together.

Cristiano Ronaldo makes headlines even when not playing and that's the norm for the most famous footballer on the planet.

In October 2026, Ronaldo caused controversy after leaving Portugal's training camp during the international break. He reacted angrily to manager Jorge Jesus opting not to bring him on during the second half of a 2-1 win over Norway in the UEFA Nations League.

This wasn't the first time the forward has shown frustration after being left on the bench in a match. He marched down the tunnel after the Norway game, but four years prior, he did so before full-time when he missed out on minutes for Manchester United in a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Ronaldo later called out former United coach Erik ten Hag and accused the Dutchman of 'disrespecting' him . The image he portrays on and off the football pitch sometimes raises questions over his personality and whether he's an arrogant individual in his downtime.

Ronaldo's competitiveness extends beyond football as he has a winning mentality that doesn't escape him even during everyday life. He remains disciplined behind closed doors and focused on bettering himself, whether that be in training or in the gym.

Luis Nani is one of only a few Portuguese players who played alongside Ronaldo for club and country. Their national allegiance saw them live together for a year to help Nani get settled into life in Manchester after arriving from Sporting CP in 2007.

Ronaldo also allowed fellow new signing Anderson to stay with them on a temporary basis after his arrival from FC Porto in the same summer. And Nani opened up on that experience and revealed just what the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is like off the pitch.

Nani told UTD Podcast in May 2020 (via the club's official website ): "It was fun for a month. We’d challenge ourselves a lot. We had some great, funny moments and helped each other so much. That’s why it was not so hard for me in the beginning and for Anderson too."

The former United winger added: "Cristiano was very competitive. When you’re staying in his house for a day, it means he challenges you at any time. He had a swimming pool, a tennis court and ping-pong table. Sometimes, it’s just competing to see who knows who’s telling the truth, or who is right about something. Every time, there was a discussion to see who was right or who was better."

Ronaldo appeared to have been an early bird who prioritised sleep over spending more time with his teammates: "The only time we were not playing was the night time, we’d sit on the sofa talking and Cristiano would just disappear [to bed]. We’d learn because me and Ando would be very tired when we woke up. He’d already been up two hours earlier, checking the news and would say: ‘Okay, let’s go’."

He added: "He was the only one who had a car then, in the beginning, so we had to be ready to go with him. Fantastic moments and great memories we have."

Ronaldo's professionalism has been applauded throughout his career, putting in the work to improve and he's among the most hardworking players in football history. His competitive streak remains intact at home and for Nani that meant early mornings because he acted as designated driver for him and Anderson.

Brazilian midfielder Anderson grew close with Ronaldo during his time at United and there are clips of their friendship that tend to surface on fanpages of the club. One video shows the pair holding a comedic interview after winning the Premier League title in 2009.

Ronaldo left Old Trafford that summer, joining Real Madrid for a then-club record £80 million. At the Estadio Bernabeu, he added four Ballons d'Or to the one won in Manchester and it was easy to see his enormous ambition from his time at the Theatre of Dreams.

Anderson gave an interesting insight into Ronaldo's treatment of him while living with the Portugal star. He told Globo in February 2024: "Nani and I lived at Cristiano Ronaldo's house for almost a year. Training was at 9:30 am, but sometimes we had to go at 6:30 am, because Ronaldo was at the club and we went with him. Nani and I slept there on the stretchers and waited, because his work had to start."

The Brazilian added: "If I had five per cent of Ronaldo's mentality, I would be among the twenty best midfielders at that time... As soon as I arrived, I went to Cristiano's house. I thank him very much. He adopted me. We lived at Ronaldo's house for almost a year. We left because we wanted to leave. For him we would stay there... The guy took us to training, fed us, had a cook for us. There was a swimming pool inside and outside the house, a jacuzzi, a tennis court."

Ronaldo's humility sometimes doesn't get the recognition it deserves because of his polarising persona on the pitch. While he can upset fans with his behaviour, it's because, even in his forties, he believes he can help his team achieve success.

Cristiano Ronaldo has a burning desire to be the best. Rio Ferdinand summed his elite mentality up in a 2021 chat with Anthony Joshua.

For Anderson and Nani, they saw the work he put in to become one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen. That did come at a cost as they probably were setting their alarms earlier than they had liked.

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