Rio Ferdinand has provided a window into the continued camaraderie between former Manchester United players in an interview with Nani.
The former centre back welcomed his old team-mate on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast and opened up on the hilarity that endures between stars of the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Among them include the likes of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young.
Ahead of his conversion with the former tricky winger, Ferdinand asked for questions for Nani in the WhatsApp group they all share and he kicked off his post with the iconic image of the Portuguese crying during a 2011 clash against Liverpool at Anfield.
'You know what I put in the group, Nani,' said Ferdinand before bursting into laughter. 'Nani, I put the picture of you at Anfield when you were crying.
'Youngy [Ashley Young] just text back, "Why did Nani cry?"'
In the opinion of most onlookers, Nani was quite justified in shedding tears after being on the end of a horror tackle by Jamie Carragher that would certainly have earned a red card today.
The infamous tackle occurred during a Premier League at Anfield, which the hosts won 3-1, and saw Carragher booked following a first half lunge at the Portuguese winger.
The studs-up challenge left a huge gaping wound on Nani's shin and led to his substitution at the end of the half as he was carried off on a stretcher.
Yet, incredibly, after initially going over to defend Nani by confronting Carragher, some of his team-mates soon became uninterested when they saw Nani was left crying over the incident.
Former Red Devils defender Patrice Evra even recalled the incident also left Ferguson giving Nani time away from the club.
'You remember Anfield when Nani got tackled by Jamie Carragher?' Evra quizzed the ex-England defender on his podcast FIVE in 2023.
'I remember he got butchered he nearly broke his leg. We started fighting with Liverpool players, Steven Gerrard, and then Scholsey [Paul Scholes] came and he saw Nani crying. He said "f*** that, let's go".
'After that Ferguson gave him two weeks off because he says he needed to recover from that because we were waiting for him because in that team we didn't care we were ready to kill him.
'Because you know someone crying at Anfield... and even Ferguson, you remember when he said: "I hope your legs are f*****g broken I really hope your legs are broken".
'Ferguson always wanted to kill Nani when he was falling on the floor, saying you can't be a United player and doing that.'
Despite the cultural differences, Nani enjoyed a successful seven-year stay at Old Trafford, winning four league titles, two League Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
Ferdinand added: 'This is what we used to love. Nobody took it badly, look at Nani there, just laughing. This is what it was about, everybody in the training ground everyday laughing.
'But when you get on the pitch, it's serious.'
