The Portugal superstar spent six-years at Old Trafford before his then-world-record move to Real Madrid in 2009.
At age 34, the Portuguese is still at the very top of his career, breaking records for club and country on a daily basis.
According to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, one of the secrets to his success was learning from his former team-mates at Manchester United and says he would have been an ‘imbecile’ not to learn from them.
“By using my brain. If you’ve got a little intelligence, you look and take example from those who are doing things better than you,” Ronaldo told France Football.
“That’s what I did when I was in Manchester with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand… if you don’t learn from guys like that, you’re an imbecile.”
“The goal isn’t to imitate but to take aspects from those who are the best and adapt it to your own personality. That’s what I did. I had some talent and I watched them.”
“Sir Alex Ferguson also taught me a lot, and I realised I had the potential to score, not only dribble and pass.”
“I started to think of being a complete player without any weakness. I could score with my right foot, my left foot and my head. I’m strong and I’m quick.”
“If you have this and a real ethic and a good lifestyle, you can still do it at 34-and-a-half.”
Ronaldo recently scored his 700th career goal in Portugal’s 2-1 defeat against Ukraine.
