Sir Alex accepted the Portuguese star's determination to represent Real Madrid after playing with Manchester United for six years.
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Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has opened up about Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford during a new UTD Podcast episode. Sir Alex was part of the crowd that witnessed Ronaldo’s incredible second debut against Newcastle United, and likened the Portuguese star’s entrance to that of stories about Julius Caesar. During a candid chat with presenters Helen Evans, Sam Homewood and David May, Sir Alex spoke about how excited he was to see Ronaldo back in the red shirt. “It’s fantastic,” enthused Sir Alex. “You saw on that Saturday that it was like Caesar entering Rome after victory. I came, I saw, I conquered. It was fantastic.
“I mean, for anyone who is a United fan, we could have had a million people in there, without doubt, as there were so many outside, hundreds outside. It’s one of these things. When he was here as a kid, his learning process was very, very quick. A lot of people said he was a diver and there was a little spell of that but, after that, he was attacking defenders and all he needed was a nudge and he would waltz by them. He would attack with unbelievable speed. I think the increasing knowledge of his game – I think he was born with a desire.
“He sacrificed himself to be the best. I remember we were playing Arsenal on the Saturday and it was pouring with rain at Carrington. I said to him, and you know he would always practice after training, and I said, ‘In. We’ve got a game tomorrow and it’s too wet. The ground is too soft.’ So I went into my office, looked out of the window and what did he do? He went on the Astroturf. I had no argument! I couldn’t say anything to him. He’s beat me.”
Sir Alex accepted the Portuguese star’s determination to represent Real Madrid after playing with Manchester United for six years. “He had a dream of going to Real Madrid,” he admitted. “I was not against that, six years was great for a boy from Madeira, getting him here just after his 18th birthday and having him six years. I think we did well that way and it gave me a chance to get a replacement. We got Antonio Valencia and he was fantastic so we were very lucky that way.
“I knew [how good he would become]. Absolutely. I knew that. When he got to that kind of platform at Real Madrid. To be fair to Real, they are one club that has produced world-class players for years and years and won the European cup so many times, 13 or something. You’ve got to give them credit – it is a platform where any great player would love to go to.”
Besides, Sir Alex Ferguson also recalled his 1992 search for a centre-forward that eventually led him to the future club legend Eric Cantona. He said, “I can’t remember the timelines of it but I was at a game in Paris besides Michel Platini and Gerard Houllier and Cantona had been suspended. Michel said to me I should sign Cantona and I said: ‘Is there not baggage there?’ He said: ‘Alex, you’ll love him. He’s a great lad. He just wants to be wanted.”
“Gerard echoed that but, by the time I got back, he was on trial at Sheffield Wednesday with Trevor Francis for a month. He was playing indoor football, something like that, but, come the end of the month, apparently Trevor offered him the chance to stay on and he said I’m not playing this. Trevor was very friendly with Howard [Wilkinson, the Leeds manager] and phoned Howard, who signed him immediately.”
