As a member of Manchester United’s iconic ‘Class of 92’, Nicky Butt knows all the hallmarks of what makes a superstar.
Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham all broke into the Red Devils’ first team at the same time as Butt and were cornerstones of the club’s success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, none went on to reach the same heights as Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who spent six seasons at United before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.
Butt’s final campaign with the Red Devils coincided with Ronaldo‘s first as the former moved to Newcastle in 2004.
At the time, Butt sensed there was a serious player to be unlocked in Ronaldo, but the latter’s antics in training made him question whether that would ever happen.
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When asked on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan if Ronaldo was the best player he’d ever seen, Butt said: “He wasn’t when I was there because he had so many little flaws he had to deal with.
“Dribbling, too much diving. I remember him getting abused in training every time he would dive off the more experienced pros. ‘Get up. You don’t do that.’ You know, ‘You never dive at this football club.’
“It’s like the story of Ole Gunnar [Solskjaer] when he dived over the Newcastle player running through. You have to do it the right way.
“I knew he’d have the talent to get there, but getting talent is different to actually doing it.
“You have got to be a really top, top human being to be a top, top player in my opinion.”
But three-and-a-half years later, the 49-year-old watched a transformed Ronaldo tear apart a Premier League rival.
It was then and there that Butt recognised Ronaldo had not only hit new heights, but was on the way to the very top.
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“I was at Newcastle. I watched the Fulham game,” Butt said.
“It was a sticky game and he grabbed the game by the scruff of his neck, dribble past about eight players.
“You just think, ‘Wow, he’s gone to the next level’. That’s when I thought he was one of the best in the world.”
The game in question was when Ronaldo scored an 88th-minute winner to lift United to a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage in February 2007.
As for dribbling past eight players, well, it wasn’t quite that many.
But that’s not to say Ronaldo didn’t evade several Fulham challenges on his way to securing three points for the Red Devils.
He received the ball inside his own half and only a few metres before the halfway line and was immediately closed down by two Fulham players.
But Ronaldo knocked the ball past one down the left wing and evaded a sliding tackle from the other as he zeroed in on goal.
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Ronaldo then cut between two Fulham defenders and fired past Fulham goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka.
The following season was when Ronaldo exploded to an entirely different level for United as he scored 31 goals from 34 Premier League appearances.
But his time at Old Trafford came to an end in 2009 as Real Madrid came knocking with a then-world record transfer fee of £80million.
From there, Ronaldo solidified his status as one of the best in the modern game and all time, going on to win five Ballon d’Or awards and four Champions League titles during his nine seasons with Los Blancos.
Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 for Juventus as he looked to conquer another European league.
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He did exactly that as Juventus won Serie A in his first two seasons and the Coppa Italia in his third and final campaign in Turin.
A return back to United in 2021 beckoned but it turned out to be nothing short of a nightmare as Ronaldo had his contract terminated in November 2022 after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo now calls Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr home but remains a constant presence for Portugal at international level and scored his 900th career goal in the September international break against Croatia.
