Stephen Hendry was playing golf with Sir Alex Ferguson when the legendary gaffer told him that he was in the process of signing Cristiano Ronaldo, but the snooker star confused him for R9
Stephen Hendry was on the golf course with Sir Alex Ferguson when he learned of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United.
However, the seven-time world champion snooker player initially confused the Portuguese superstar, who turned 40 on Wednesday, with the Brazilian football icon Ronaldo Nazario. Hendry recounted the amusing misunderstanding while chatting with ex-United keeper Ben Foster on his Snooker Club podcast.
“I played golf with him [Ferguson] once, and he was on the phone all the time,” Hendry said, adding: “It was at Gleneagles and he was on the phone, and there was a guy who I knew asked me to play – because he didn’t play golf but he knew Alex Ferguson.
“He said, ‘Can you play with him?’. I said, ‘Yeah, yeah’. So he’s on the phone, this guy said, ‘What you doing?’. He said, ‘I’m doing a deal’. He says, ‘We’re signing Ronaldo’. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Man United are signing Ronaldo’ – Brazilian Ronaldo.
“I said, ‘Wow, what a signing’. Anyway, it turned out in the end it was Cristiano Ronaldo. I was texting all my mates who are Man United fans saying, ‘You’ll never guess what, Man United are signing Ronaldo’,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
CR7 caught Ferguson’s eye during a pre-season friendly in 2003, as Sporting CP defeated United 3-1. Just six days later, the then 17-year-old prodigy inked a deal with the Red Devils, and his legendary career took off from there.
While Hendry might have been thrilled at the idea of signing Nazario due to his exceptional performances and goal records with teams like PSV, Barcelona, and Madrid, United arguably landed a more significant football giant in Cristiano. The winger-turned-striker netted 118 goals in 292 games for United from 2003 to 2009, clinching three Premier League titles, two League Cups, an FA Cup, and a Champions League before making an £80million switch to Real Madrid.
He added two La Ligas and four more Champions Leagues to his trophy haul with Los Blancos before transferring to Juventus in 2018. After spending three years in Serie A, he returned to United for one final stint in 2021, adding another 27 goals in 54 matches to his club record before moving to Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr in 2023.
Despite celebrating his 40th birthday on Wednesday, Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down. In the 2024/25 season, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 15 goals in 17 matches – and even though his contract is due to end after this season, Ronaldo insists that he wants to continue enjoying the beautiful game for as long as possible.
The legendary R9, on the other hand, was with Real Madrid for five years from 2002 to 2007 before transferring to AC Milan and later Corinthians. Despite being regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time, his career was marred by injuries – including three patellar ruptures and a tear, as well as a broken tibia and various knee issues.
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more