Former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand, on Wednesday, slammed Cristiano Ronaldo as being a show pony.
The former United captain said that when Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, Ronaldo was just a show pony with an huge array of tricks.
Ronaldo, however, has gone on to become one of the world footballa s great thanks to his sheer determination and perseverance. Ferdinand, who analyses UEFA Champions League for BT Sport, believes that change came during his stint at English giants Manchester United.
Ferdinand was discussing Ronaldo, who had gone level with Real Madrid legend Raula s all time goal scoring record, during their 2-0 victory over Malmo. Ronaldo now has a chance to surpass the mark on Sunday against Atletico.
“When he came to Manchester United, he was a show pony.
“He wanted to do skills, he wanted to show people how good he was and take people on, take the mickey out of full-backs.
“Then he realised it was about end product and to become the best player in the world it would be all about purely scoring goals, or setting goals up for others and having an impact on games. He’s forced himself to become that guy.
Rio praised Ronaldoa s relentlessness that help him raised to compete with Lionel Messi for the title of the worlda s best .
“He’s been relentless season upon season, raising the bar. That’s greatness right there.”
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Legions of fans debate in various online forums, while pundits are divided between the two modern day legends of the game but everyone agrees that they are lucky to witness the two modern day legends fight it out for the title of worlda s best. While Ronaldoa s age would soon come into the factor and the phenomenal goal scoring records are expected to stay for a while unless a new superhuman emerges from the shadows.