The time when Ferdinand had to defend Ronaldo from a teammate's attack

Rio Ferdinand has opened up about a heated training ground incident involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy during his time at Manchester United.

Ferdinand revealed the incident

In a recent appearance on the Vibe with Five YouTube show, the former England defender recounted a time when tensions flared between the two attacking stars. Ferdinand revealed that he had to step in to protect a young Ronaldo from a more experienced Van Nistelrooy.

"It was a crazy year at United, the training sessions could get heated in a flash," Ferdinand explained. "There was always a lot of testosterone flying around, I think that's normal at any club. I wasn't one for getting into trouble, but I would be shouting and screaming most of the time during training."

Ruud's blows against Ronaldo

Ferdinand went on to describe a specific incident involving van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo: "There was one time when Ruud van Nistelrooy kicked Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of times and hurt his Achilles tendon. When Ruud had the ball next, I ran straight at him and gave him a big shove. I said to him, 'What are you doing? Why are you kicking him?'. Ruud stood up and the rest of the players had to get involved. In the end, nothing serious happened," Ferdinand admitted.

"I thought to myself, 'He's a kid, leave him alone, what are you doing?'" Ferdinand continued. "Ruud was an animal, a brutal player, the best finisher I ever played with."