Manchester United legend, Patrice Evra has narrated how sir Alex Ferguson made Cristiano Ronaldo the best footballer on the planet.
This he said happened during the Portuguese’ first spell at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009.
According to Evra, Ferguson turned the Portugal international from a “YouTube player” into a superstar.
Now 37, Ronaldo moved from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United as an 18-year-old in August 2003.
He found the net just six times during his debut season at the club but soon became prolific – finding the net 23 times during the 2006/07 campaign.
Ronaldo has gone on to win seven league titles, five Champions Leagues and Euro 2016, scoring 700 club goals for United, Sporting, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Evra played alongside Ronaldo during his first spell at Old Trafford and has now recalled Ferguson’s influence on Ronaldo.
“Sir Alex Ferguson had a massive impact on Ronaldo’s career,” Evra told Betfair.
“There have been many phases in his career. When he started he was like a YouTube player, lots of skill, that’s what I felt when I arrived at United.
“But, I also felt that there was a hunger and personality to show to people that he could be the best and he had big players around him, like Roy Keane.”
Evra added: “I remember one time early on Ferguson destroyed him. I think we played Chelsea and he didn’t have a good performance.”
Evra said the iconic manager further told Ronaldo that it was easy to score multiple goals when he played against a smaller club, urging him to do more against bigger clubs.
The Frenchman said Ronaldo suddenly started scoring in the big games after that talk.
“Ferguson went further and told him that he’s not a winger, that he’s a striker and with his ability, he had to score two or three goals a game and he didn’t care about the tricks and skill, he said, ‘Forget that, you need to score goals.’ That season Ronaldo scored 42 goals,” he added.
