Gary Neville revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo disappointed Manchester United when he first joined due to both his physicality and playing style.
What happened?
The Portuguese star was recruited by Manchester United in 2003, tasked with replacing David Beckham at Old Trafford. He also inherited the legendary number 7 jersey after the English player moved to Real Madrid.
Overview
At Man Utd, Ronaldo transformed himself from a flashy, inefficient winger into a fearsome goal scorer. He raised the Champions League trophy and secured his first Ballon d’Or while wearing the Red Devils’ jersey.
What Neville said about Ronaldo?
At first, Gary Neville had doubts about Ronaldo’s abilities. He recounted in The Overlap how CR7 transformed himself into a legend: “When Ronaldo arrived, he was quite skinny and his body wasn’t developed. He also often made inaccurate decisions. When he needed to pass, Ronaldo would dribble. When he needed to dribble, he would pass. He frustrated the midfielders. Looking at Ronaldo, there seemed to be no future, and I really lost faith. He didn’t even move, didn’t offer any support. Quite disappointing! In 2006, Ronaldo returned from the World Cup with bulging muscles. He changed. In that season, we won the championship. Ronaldo became a machine. I think he scored 35-40 goals.”
Do you know?
Neville also spoke about how Ronaldo maintains his high level of performance even at 39 years old: “The physique of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney is different. I don’t mean anything by it, but Wazza has a square shape, more muscular. Cristiano is like a middleweight boxer. He trains in the gym every day. After each session, he stays to train more, takes ice baths, and has all the training equipment at home. While Wazza likes to drink and go out. Both are excellent players. Cristiano takes his career further and continues to maintain top form.”
Ronaldo’s future?
Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down, with 42 goals this season for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. He has made 206 appearances and scored 128 goals for the Portuguese national team. CR7 is still aiming to participate in another Euro and World Cup in his career.