Manchester United signed Ronaldo as an unknown 18-year-old in a £12.24million deal in 2003. Former Red devils Captain - Gary Neville has lifted the lid on just how much Ronaldo impressed the United squad
Neville recalls the first time he saw Cristiano Ronaldo play - and just how desperate he was for Manchester United to sign the Portuguese winger.
The Red Devils faced Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly in the summer of 2003 and Neville who was injured back home, watched the game on television.
And it didn't take long for the 18-year-old Ronaldo to catch Neville's eye.
"What a player, I thought," Neville writes in SKY SPORTS .
"After the match I remember sending a text to my brother, saying 'we need to sign him' and apparently there was a lot of talk about him on the coach after the game.
"Obviously players should never be involved in signings, but he certainly made everyone sit up and take notice. I'd never heard of him and I'd never seen him before that night, but there was a huge excitement among the players afterwards."
"What we didn't realise is that the manager had been dealing with it for a period of time before then, the Old Trafford Legend added. ''Sir Alex Ferguson signed him shortly afterwards.
Ronaldo joined United the same year for£12.24million deal, which made him the most expensive teenager in English football history.
Neville continued; But I'll never forget that game against Sporting Lisbon and the chat among the players when they got back to Manchester.
Poor Sheasy (John O'Shea) was the butt of a lot of jokes for being given a run-around (by Ronaldo).
"But I have to be honest, I felt for him. "If I'd been playing that night he'd have done the same to me."
Ronaldo went on to win three Premier League titles, two League Cups, one Champions League title and the FA Cup before joining Real Madrid in 2009 for a then World record fee of £80 million.
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