Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 3:44 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 15:49

Rod Thornley has opened up about his time as a masseur at Manchester United. The 47-year-old Englishman worked for the English superpower between 2000 and 2019 and had many star players on the massage table during that time. He built a relationship of trust with Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. With the latter he concluded a deal that was as bizarre as it was lucrative.

In his nineteen years as a masseur at Manchester United, Thornley went through a lot, he says in the podcast Under the Cosh. Perhaps the most absurd action came in the name of Ronaldo. The Portuguese was added during his first period the Mancunians regularly taken care of by the therapist. “At one point The X Factor got up when I was massaging him. He asked who the woman in the picture was. It was about Dannii Minogue, Kylie’s sister,” says Thornley.

“Cristiano asked me if I could arrange her number. A few months later the same story, but now with Kimberly Wyatt, member of pop group Pussycat Dolls,” Thornley continues. “I did get that done, but at the same time asked him what I got out of it. Cristiano had a Porsche Carrera at the time and he promised me: “If I ever go to Real Madrid, I’ll sell you that car for half the price.” In 2009 the time had come. I paid 34,000 euros instead of 68,000 euros. The next day I sold the car for 57,000 euros. Not bad for two phone numbers.”

Thornley goes on to explain how he ended up at the club. “I worked as a handyman in the neighborhood. When United installed a swimming pool at the training complex, they needed someone. I knew the players through my brother and was relaxed with them. From there, the club asked me if I wanted to become a masseur. I retrained and then went everywhere. I became friends with a lot of players. I tried to put everyone at ease with good conversation during the massage.”