Ronaldo, a superstar for Al Nassr, recently spoke about how four Manchester United greats taught him a lot during his breakout season with the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 thanks to former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who signed the Portuguese star for £12.24 million.
After Ronaldo’s impressive performance in a 2003 friendly match between United and Sporting CP, the legendary No. 7 shirt was handed to the Al Nassr star at Old Trafford.
While playing for Ferguson and the Premier League club, the 39-year-old Portuguese striker skyrocketed to superstardom.
Before completing his then-record-breaking £80 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo won the first of five Ballon d’Or titles while playing for United.
After a successful first season away from Juventus, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner returned to Old Trafford for a second stint in 2021.
After a rift with current United manager Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo’s second stint at Old Trafford came to a close in 2022.
Although Ronaldo’s second spell at the club was less successful than his first, the legendary player from Real Madrid and United nevertheless left an indelible impression while playing under Ferguson.
Advice from four Manchester United greats: Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo had a spectacular career and an everlasting influence at Real Madrid after his first stints at Manchester United and United.
Ronaldo, the former United great, recently admitted that playing among other gifted players at Old Trafford was an important factor in his development and subsequent success.
The Portugal captain credited Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs with shaping his playing career at Manchester United.
Ronaldo claims that the four United greats described above possessed “aspects” that he could incorporate into his own game.
While at Old Trafford, Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had previous experience playing together for Madrid and United, infamously got into a furious altercation.
According to The Daily Mail, he expressed his belief in the power of learning from those who excel in a 2019 interview with France Football.
You’re a complete moron if you don’t take a cue from the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Ryan Giggs when you’re in Manchester.
The point isn’t to mimic the best, but to borrow ideas from the greatest and make them your own. That’s the action I took. I observed them and realized I had a talent.
The impact of Ferguson on Ronaldo
Claiming to have always thought Ronaldo would be one of the four world-class players he managed, Ferguson said that Ronaldo was destined for greatness.
After Ronaldo joined United from Sporting CP, he talked favorably of the 82-year-old Scotsman’s involvement in his life, whom he views as a father figure.
“Everything that he said to me, he did,” he stated in an interview with Manchester United’s Inside View in 2021.
“It’s not easy, you know. Picture this: you’re a youngster of eighteen, and you’ve just arrived from Sporting to play alongside superstars like Giggs, Scholes, [Roy] Keane, and Solskjaer.
He was really helpful to me when it came to communicating, and I was nervous about it. It makes no difference that he occasionally summoned me to his office beside the translator.
Everything he said to me from the start he did, and that’s what mattered: that he teach me things that will make me a better person and athlete.
So, thank you very much. I constantly tell people that he’s like a dad to me on the football field.