“Even when we’re doing recovery on the bikes, he always wanted to win” – Nani recollects competition with Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United teammate

Former Manchester United winger Nani has revealed how important Cristiano Ronaldo was to his development when he first moved to Old Trafford.

Nani followed a very similar early career path to Ronaldo as he too was a Portuguese winger who joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon in 2007.

The now 35-year-old is fondly remembered by United supporters as he scored 40 times in 230 appearances.

The winger also won four Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League and played alongside Ronaldo for two seasons.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's Vibe with FIVE podcast, the former Portugal international revealed the competitiveness that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner possesses.

He stated:

“He was very important because, me and Anderson we were living with him for a month. During that month, every single minute was a competition, we were at home playing ping pong, swimming, tennis, snooker and even when we were talking to each other, we were competing who was right and who was wrong. Even when we’re doing recovery on the bikes, he always wanted to win.”

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Nani defends Cristiano Ronaldo's attitude at Manchester United

The 37-year-old forward has been heavily linked with a move away from Manchester United this summer. He didn't attend his team's pre-season tour of Thailand and Austrlia and just featured one pre-season match.

Ronaldo's attitude has also been questioned in recent weeks following Manchester United's miserable start to the Premier League campaign. However, Nani feels the criticism is unfair as he proclaimed (as per The Metro):

"It’s a long time since we played together and Cristiano is not a kid anymore. Times change and the reactions and attitude can change as well. But, as we see, he’s doing the same things as usual; he doesn’t like to lose, he reacts when the team is not doing well."

He added:

"But the only difference is that it’s different times. He’s playing again at Man United but he’s been all over the world doing well at different teams with different players. He’s in a team where the managers are trying to build a strong team and it’s not easy, it takes time."

Nani stated that Ronaldo wants to play at the top level and at 37 years of age, he doesn't really have time to focus on building Manchester United. He said:

"For Cristiano, he doesn’t have time to lose on building teams or waiting for the next season. He wants to continue to be at the top, scoring goals, being the man. That’s why the reaction is normal, we all have the wrong reactions sometimes."

The Red Devils have lost both of their opening games this season against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford. They will next face Liverpool at Old Trafford on August 22.