Man Utd News: Real Madrid left surprised after revelations about Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo spent six years at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 and is widely regarded as one of the best ever players to wear the club's famous red and white colours.

It was not all rosy at Old Trafford, however, with the Real Madrid star taking his time to adjust to the physicality of life in England.

In a bid to combat that problem, ex-United coach Tony Coton revealed this week that Ferguson encouraged the likes of Roy Keane to repeatedly foul Cristiano Ronaldo.

“One flaw was his habit of falling to the floor like a rag doll every time he lost a tackle," he told the Daily Mail of the 28-year-old.

“Sir Alex embarked on a mission to toughen him up. Members of the coaching staff were encouraged to turn a blind eye if they saw Ronaldo being fouled in practise matches and small-sided games.

“These games were intense and no prisoners were taken.

“Poor Ronaldo didn’t know what hit him as team-mates he’d been sharing a joke with him gave him the kind of treatment that was no laughing matter."

And Spanish outlet Don Balon says Real Madrid have been left surprised by that information.

Los Blancos could be questioning the timing of the report.

The interview with Coton was released just days after it emerged United had tried to sign Ronaldo in the summer.

All three parties were at one point interested in a deal.

But Real pulled out after it emerged that top target Kylian Mbappe would be joining Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain instead.