Cristiano Ronaldo left Man Utd star ‘needing an oxygen tank’
Robin Bairner
- 1 Aug 2022 10:45 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo might be pushing to leave Manchester United, but in the game that persuaded the Red Devils to sign him the first time around, he left one of their first-team stars breathless.
Ronaldo first moved to Old Trafford in 2003 following an impressive display for Sporting CP against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in a friendly. A teenager at that point, he impressed to such a degree that the Scot decided to sign him on the spot.
It proved to be an inspired move as Ronaldo went on to win the first of his five Ballons d’Or at Man Utd before becoming a Real Madrid legend. He subsequently moved to Juventus and then back to United, although his future is once again up in the air.
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How Ronaldo persuaded Man Utd to make a move
Nevertheless, Man Utd icon Rio Ferdinand has remembered the first time his side encountered Ronaldo.
“We played against Sporting in 2003, we get in at half-time and John O'Shea must've needed an oxygen tank next to him,” the former England centre-back revealed.
“He was in bits and he was sitting there panting. We were telling him to get closer to Ronaldo and he couldn't even answer us.
We got on the coach and we were delayed for about an hour and a half, and then they said they were doing a deal to sign Ronaldo now
- Rio Ferdinand“To be fair, me, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were standing there going: ‘This kid's unbelievable, we've got to sign him.’
“We got on the coach and we were delayed for about an hour and a half, and then they said they were doing a deal to sign Ronaldo now.”
Man Utd had been eyeing the player before that match, but it was thought that Ferguson was prepared to let him remain at Sporting for another season to develop in the first team. Ronaldo’s performance, though, persuaded him otherwise.
The Portugal star went on to score 84 times in 196 appearances in his first spell at Old Trafford, and since returning as a 36-year-old last summer, he has shown he has lost none of his talismanic qualities by carrying the side to sixth in the league.
Ronaldo, though, is pushing for a transfer away from Manchester United currently in a bid to play Champions League football.
