Cristiano Ronaldo Did 'Things He Didn't Want To Do' At Manchester United, Ex-Manager Says

Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan said that they have made Cristiano Ronaldo do things he didn’t want to during training with the team.

Back in 2001, Ronaldo became the most expensive teenager in English soccer history after Man United paid a staggering £12.24 million ($15 million) to ink the deal that would release him from Sporting Lisbon. “CR7” quickly delivered in the English stage and even copped the Premier League golden boot in 2008 before sealing another world-record transfer to Real Madrid the following summer.

As an individual player, Ronaldo is no doubt one of the greatest to ever grace the pitch. However, according to Phelan, Man United played a significant role in the Portuguese star’s development.

In a recent interview with The Coaching Manual, Phelan said it was a challenge to transform the young and explosive Ronaldo into a team player during his time at Manchester United. The 57-year-old revealed that Ronaldo always squeezed out every advice he can possibly take from United coaches at the time. Eventually, everything worked out and the team got the results they wanted out of Ronaldo.

"Ronaldo stood out. He was like a sponge. He wanted more [advice from United's coaches]. He challenged you for more. We had to try and get Cristiano to be a team player and he got it. In the end, he got it,” Phelan revealed.

Phelan also noted that he, along with Man United coaches have successfully made Ronaldo do things he never wanted to do, given his style of playing. Phelan even stated that when Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid, he noticed that the Portuguese star applied certain things on his game which he “definitely picked up” at United.

"There were certain things we did in training that made him do things he didn't want to do. Especially when the success came and after he moved to Real Madrid, there were certain things - when observing games at Madrid - that he definitely picked up at Manchester United,” Phelan pointed out.

"I don't claim to have created Cristiano Ronaldo. A lot of people have influenced him. But the biggest influence has been himself - his drive has been fantastic," he added.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been linked to a return to Madrid following his apparent desire to leave Juventus. However, reports claimed that the 35-year-old isn’t welcome in Real Madrid and did not have too many supporters within the club’s first team. It is said that within the organization, only Marcelo was tagged as a great friend of Ronaldo in the Spanish capital.