“I played Cristiano Ronaldo and later wished I hadn’t” - When ex-Portugal coach Fernando Santos made huge admission about Ronaldo
Former Portugal boss Fernando Santos made an interesting Cristiano Ronaldo admission after the team's Euro 2016 triumph. The incident pertains to a young Ronaldo playing under Santos at Sporting CP in the early 2000s.
The then teenager impressed in a 3-1 friendly win over United, who promptly swooped him up, and the rest is history. Things could have turned out differently for the 39-year-old had Santos not played him that day.
As things transpired, though, after besting John O'Shea and Co, then United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed enough to land the precocious teenager that summer, and Ronaldo never looked back.
"I was the coach when Sporting played United," reminisced Santos (as per Eurosport after Euro 2016). "I played Cristiano Ronaldo, and later wished I hadn't. A week after (Ricardo) Quaresma left to join Barcelona, then two days later Cristiano Ronaldo was on his way to Manchester.
"Back in those day, I could never have imagined that 13 years on, both of them would be crowned European champions with the national team."
Ronaldo moved to Old Trafford in the summer of 2003 in a reported move worth £12.24 million before joining Real Madrid six years later in a then world-record transfer of £80 million.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared with Portugal?
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game. Since breaking out with Sporting in 2003, Ronaldo soon earned his Portugal debut and has represented his country with distinction since then.
With 128 goals in 206 games - both record tallies for a male player in international football - Ronaldo has carved out a niche for himself. The Euro 2016 winner under Santos has played a record five European Championships and is set for a sixth one this summer in Germany.
The Al-Nassr forward is also the only player in Euro history to score in five (consecutive) editions of the quadrennial competiiton, with nobody else doing so in more than three.
Unsurprisingly, he's also the leading scorer in Euro finals (14 goals in 25 games) and qualifiers (41 goals in 44 games). The 2019 UEFA Nations League winner has also bagged 36 goals (in 47 games) in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and eight goals (in 22 games) in the finals for Portugal.