“Cristiano is a really big talent. I see that every day in training. But in the game he is not effective. He is getting better – but there is too much show in his playing.
He wants to play nice football but you can’t always play that way.
Often his crosses come too late for me because I’m marked by then – but we are working hard on that.”

25/05/2004 – Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson

“At first it took Cristiano time to get used to British football. But with every passing week, he’s got better and better.
Everyone has their idea of what Cristiano’s potential is but there’s no question that his potential is better than anything else in Europe. What we have to do is realise that potential. You take the components — he’s got the perfect physique, balance, pace and two feet.
He’s got a fantastic personality, a great strength of mind and a sense of purpose. Those things will help him more than anything and take him really far in the game.”

“He may be only young but he already has an influence on everyone in the team. He not only excites the crowd but the other players as well.
When we first saw him in that pre-season friendly playing against us for Sporting Lisbon we saw what an outstanding player he could be.
He has taken the next step without any problems and he can be something really special for the club.”

“Ronaldo is a fantastic player.
He basically won the game for us with his goal before half time. He is already so much better than when he first joined us a year ago.
His end product is there and he’s scoring goals now too.”

“We want him to be consistent for the team. He is already showing lots of confidence.
But if he gets carried away, he will be brought back down to earth very quickly.
He could have stayed in Portugal for an extra year and then joined up with us.
But he wanted to come straight away and test himself against the best and that’s exactly what he is doing.”

“Ronaldo is only 19 and he is sensational.
Manchester United have always known how to make room for exceptional talents. Remember Bobby Charlton and George Best.
I have learned, too, you always have to let the players express themselves. For a manager, a player like Ryan Giggs for example is a gift from heaven. It is the same thing with Eric Cantona.
He would never have become the great player he was if I had not encouraged him to develop his talent.
I think we were the perfect club for him. A club where he could puff out his chest and say ‘I’m the boss here, I’m the king’. He has that aura, that presence, that faith in himself.
Same thing again with little Ronaldo. Never stop him dribbling past his opponents, because it’s just that which makes him the player you want.
A manager always has to be able to adapt what he says to each type of player. He’ll say to some ‘Play it simple, you are never better than when you strip your game down’.
Then there are others who can raise their game to a new level, one I can’t conceive as I don’t have their vision and because they see things that I, as their manager, cannot see.
Ronaldo will be one of those players, I’m sure. Just like Cantona before him.”

“Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy produced some good moments for us, but Cristiano Ronaldo was particularly outstanding.
I think Ronaldo can be one of the top footballers in the world.
To come with the price tag on his head and at his age, he has been outstanding for us this season.”

“Ronaldo got in a good header in our win against Everton but needs to be getting in those positions more.
He needs to gain experience and understand that in the Premier League heading is part of the game.
But I think in two or three years he will be absolutely world class.”

“I think he can be one of the best in the world.
There are some things he needs to work hard on but he is a very talented player already. I don’t think you can expect much more from an 18-year-old and people said the same things about Michael Owen when he came through.
I have seen him a few times on television and met him for the first time a couple of weeks ago when the Portugal squad met to play Albania.
You could see in training and on the pitch that he is a very good player. I don’t think he will be the next Figo because there is only one, but maybe in a few years we will be looking for the next Cristiano Ronaldo.
There will be pressure from joining a big club in a new country and how you deal with it depends on how mature you are.
You can only be so mature at that age but he looks like he has settled well and he has brought his mum with him, which should help.”

“There have been a few players described as ‘The new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it has been a compliment to me.
There have been players who have similarities but this lad’s got more than anyone else – especially as he is genuinely two-footed.
He can play on either wing, beat players with ease, put in dangerous crosses with his left or right peg.
Cristiano’s first United game as a substitute in the season opener against Bolton was the most exciting debut performance I’ve ever seen.
I was watching (Manchester United in a pre-season friendly against Sporting) with a friend of mine and I said ‘Someone’s got to snap this kid up’ – and guess who did?
The ?12.4million fee might seem a high price, but I think it’s a snip. You are talking about a lad who, if he stays injury-free, has 15 years ahead of him in the game.”

“I thought asking Cristiano to wear David’s number would be asking too much but I hope things work out as they have so far.
From what I know and have read a lot of people thought he was too young for the jump and he was destined for a place on the bench.
But he has shown that is not the case and has taken advantage of his opportunities.
He’s a technical footballer who is quick and brave.
He isn’t intimidated by the other players around him.
The key to Ronaldo’s success is for him not to lose his head.
If he overcomes the waterfall of praise, which is a lot to take for a young player, he can go a long way.
He isn’t even 20, and the Portuguese league isn’t the English one, but so far he’s already shown he is strong and can deal with the pressure.
I watch the games and read the papers and it inevitably reminds me of my arrival in Spanish football.
To be in the papers every day is good and bad.
If you take it on board with tranquility, there aren’t any problems. But if it causes extra pressure he will be the first one to be harmed.
At United they do a good job taking care of these details and I’m sure Alex Ferguson will make sure nothing goes to his head.
The chance to play there only comes along once in a lifetime and it is hard to turn down.
He’s opted to take the risk and, in his situation, I would have done the same.”

“Sometimes young people get attracted to the light just like a moth. They are suddenly in the limelight and they enjoy it. All young players go through that process, that early learning curve.
While it’s wonderful at the beginning, they often get fed up with it pretty soon after and settle into a normal situation, like going out with their pals or doing the same things they did before they were famous.
As long as you are dealing with players who want to be helped and want to do things the right way, it is not hard for a manager at all.
Most players just want to get on with playing football, and we are fortunate to have a really good bunch of intelligent lads here.
This is the perfect place for Ronaldo because he has the right people to look after him. He is an intelligent boy and it is important to have that safety net so he doesn’t get too much exposure.
There is nothing we can do about all the hype, but in terms of how he leads his life and the access people have to him, we can control that.
We shall take the same approach with Ronaldo we did with Ryan Giggs. Ryan was very clever in dealing with the situation in which he found himself, and I am sure Ronaldo will do the same.
We can all help young Ronaldo. The boys in the dressing-room will make sure he is OK. I have no doubt about that.”

“Ronaldo is a very good player for England because he is quick and strong and has great technique.
For a winger, you have to be skilful and he has the technical ability. You can give him the ball and he will make something happen.
I’ve known Ronaldo since I was 12 years old, we played in the same team at Sporting.
He is my closest friend and we used to do everything together. We trained and played in the same teams and dreamed we would play for Sporting and for Portugal.
Ronaldo was always a special talent and very confident he would achieve his goals — even when he was 12 and I am happy for him that he has joined Manchester United.”

“Cristiano is young but already he is good enough to play at any level and achieve whatever he wants if he continues to work hard.
He has the same ambition and desire as Brazil’s Ronaldo had when he was the same age — and look at him now.
They are different players with different styles but Cristiano has that technical ability and speed.
Manchester United is not just a good team for Cristiano, it is the greatest team in the world for him!
Alex Ferguson is the ideal person to push him to his best. He is in very good hands.”

“I had never even heard of him. To be honest, Ronaldo is a totally new name to me. But I saw his debut on TV and he looks a young lad with outstanding talent.
He may have been on the pitch for only half an hour but the fans and the United players already know he is something special.
He came on and changed the game. I thought he was tremendous.
I’m just glad the No 7 shirt has been filled — and by someone so outstanding.
It would have been extremely strange if United had gone into the season without anybody in it. There has been a great tradition of players in that shirt — George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona and it’s a difficult act to follow.
Yes, it was strange to see someone else wearing it but I wish Ronaldo all the luck in the world.
Times change and we all move on. It was like 10 years ago when Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes left the club and everyone wondered where the new players would come from. But the manager had the faith to bring in a new crop of young talent.”

“It looks like the fans have a new hero. It was a marvellous debut, almost unbelievable.
I felt his penetration could make a difference for us. We have to be careful with the boy. You must remember he is only 18. We are going to have to gauge when we use him.”

“I had heard one or two rumours about him before last Wednesday, but the quality really showed through that night.
He is a big strong lad and his movement was excellent. He really looks a hell of a player and we were talking about him so much afterwards I think Ryan (Giggs) started to get a bit worried.
In tight games you need players who are capable of going past an opponent, which is obviously why the manager went after Ronaldinho. That deal didn’t quite happen, but we are always in the market for a player like that and it looks like we have got one.”

English fans love spectacular players like Alan Shearer — and that is exactly what United have signed in this young guy.
Cristiano Ronaldo has magic in his boots and I’m delighted he has signed for Manchester United, because that is my team in England.
The first thing you notice about him is that he is incredibly quick and very, very powerful.
Ronaldo has great close control and his technique is excellent.
But he is also in good condition and I know that will be important because the English league is a very strong, physical one.
He is young and, though he has much to learn, this is a guy who loves football and believes he can do anything with the ball.
People like Sir Bobby (Robson), Denis Law and George Best are still my friends.
And I think Ronaldo is the right kind of guy to wear the same No 7 shirt that George had.
Those players were men of style — and so is Cristiano Ronaldo.
I also think it was a great idea to hand Ronaldo the shirt which David Beckham left free, as it will fill him with pride and ambition.
At Sporting Lisbon he was just another one of 16 players. But now he has this famous shirt he will feel special at United.
I believe in him and my faith is based partly on the player and his talents and partly on the club he has joined.
United is a strong, well-run club with a good manager and with great players around Ronaldo. It is where a young guy should be if he wants to become great himself.”

“Ronaldo is a very fine player.
He was one of maybe four young jewels in Portugal who have now left their home nation for other European leagues.
Three — Ronaldo, Postiga and Viana — have come to England. The other, Quaresma, has joined Barcelona.
When I signed Hugo Viana I knew what I was bringing here and it is the same with Manchester United and Ronaldo and Tottenham and Postiga. They know they have signed quality.
I have no doubt the kid Ronaldo is a fine talent. I am sure he will enjoy his time at Manchester United and they will help his career develop.”

“I don’t believe we have paid over the odds at all.
People said we paid too much when we signed Ruud van Nistelrooy for ?19m but he has proved to be a bargain and Ronaldo will too.
We missed out on Ronaldinho but this lad will be able to do the same job.”

“He is good enough to embarrass English defenders and I think he will have too much skill for a lot of them.
He can do whatever he wants as a footballer.
There are some things he does with the ball that make me touch my head and wonder how he did it. It must be terrifying to be a defender against him.”

12/08/2003 Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson

“We have been negotiating for Cristiano for quite some time, but the interest in him from other clubs accelerated in the last few weeks so we had to move quickly to get him. It was only through our association with Sporting that they honoured our agreement of months ago.
He is an extremely talented footballer, a two-footed attacker who can play anywhere up front: right, left or through the middle. After we played Sporting last week the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him – that’s how highly they rated him. He is one of the most exciting young players I’ve ever seen.”