Sir Alex Ferguson has shared “something” that he immediately noticed about Cristiano Ronaldo during his time with the Manchester United legend at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo had blown Sir Alex Ferguson away during a pre-season friendly match between Manchester United and Sporting CP at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Arsenal were linked with the 41-year-old Portuguese forward when he was only a teenager, but Ferguson wasted no time by making a move for Ronaldo in 2003.
The Red Devils completed their £12.24m acquisition of Ronaldo and the former Sporting CP talent shot to superstardom during his first prolific spell at Old Trafford.
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Former Manager Sir Alex Ferguson congratulates Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea of Manchester United on their achievements ahead of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on October 16, 2022 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Sir Alex Ferguson makes an admission about Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to take free-kicks at Man Utd
Cristiano Ronaldo captured three consecutive Premier League titles with Manchester United and lifted the Champions League and FA Cup trophies alongside two League Cups.
The United legend’s impactful period at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson saw him also capture France Football’s prized Ballon d’Or award in 2008.
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Former United manager Ferguson admitted that he saw Ronaldo’s desire to improve first-hand by the time that he would put into experimenting with free-kicks.
Speaking to the Press Box PR in 2025, he said: “Every training session he played, he would practice after taking free-kicks. He was phenomenal.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson’s admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo speaks volumes after what the Man Utd icon noticed about him
Ronaldo left Old Trafford during Ferguson’s tenure and completed an £80m blockbuster move to Real Madrid in 2009 for a world-record fee at that time.
Ferguson admitted that the Al Nassr and Portugal captain caught his eye when he was a teenager because he felt there was “something” there about him.
“It was fantastic,” he said, before adding: “You get exceptional players in your lifetime.
“At 17 years of age, you knew there was something about him—not just his ability, but it was his desire to be the best.”
Ronaldo returned to the Premier League club in 2021 for a brief second spell after Man Utd signed the Real Madrid legend from Serie A side Juventus for a £12.8m fee.
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