I was baffled when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Man Utd – then he left me with cuts and grazes on my leg in training
I was baffled when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Man Utd – then he left me with cuts and grazes on my leg in training
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CRISTIANO RONALDO'S former Manchester United team-mate has lifted the lid on playing against him in training. Phil Bardsley had many a battle against the Portuguese legend as both were youngsters breaking into the side in 2003. Ronaldo joined from Sporting for £12million earlier that year after catching the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson in a pre-season friendly against United. On his arrival at Carrington, Bardsley told talkSPORT: "He'd come in with his quirky little jumper on, with these little braids coming down, and everyone was like, ‘Who's this kid?'.
![[Sir Alex Ferguson shaking hands with Cristiano Ronaldo at a Manchester United signing.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/cristiano-ronaldo-manchester-united-watched-969156741.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"The first-team players were aware because he played against them in a pre-season game and he was magnificent in that game. "But when he came to the club, he was very slight, not much English at the time, but you could see glimpses of something.". Full-back Bardsley often went head-to-head with Ronaldo in training to get him up to the speed of the Premier League. The 39-year-old, who played 18 times for United, revealed: "It'd be Cristiano taking me on and it'd be a case of me improving one-on-one defending, while he improves his finishing and his attacking play.
![[Manchester United players Mikael Silvestre, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Phil Bardsley with the Community Shield trophy.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mikael-silvestre-cristiano-ronaldo-phil-919452666.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"But we'd just come off and there'd be cuts and grazes down your shins and on your ankles when you try to stop shots and I'm blocking his shots. We both have cuts on our legs from it. "It was tough and you know what? People talk about him and probably in his early stage he went down too much, which is probably right. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS. "For a Portuguese player coming to a new country, a physical league… but he was tough.
“His battles over the years with Ashley Cole were, from a neutral point of view, you just couldn't wait for it. "It was just tit for tat for 90 minutes and it was great competition, great to watch. “But I think over his career as well, those sort of periods helped him become tougher and stronger.". Ronaldo, who celebrates his 40th birthday today, went on to make 346 appearances for United over two spells, scoring 145 goals.
And, overall, having hit the back of the net 923 times for club and country, Ronaldo is convinced he is the GOAT. He said: "I am the best player ever, I believe that. "I'm fast, I'm strong, [I score] with my header, with the left, no one has ever been more complete than me. “You may prefer Pele, Messi, Maradona, I understand and respect that. “If I finish on 920, 925 goals… it doesn't matter to me at all. I am the best in history. Period.
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