Sir Alex Ferguson says Cristiano Ronaldo ‘made’ himself and was the best player he ever coached

“It’s easy for me to say, ‘yeah I made Ronaldo’… but Ronaldo made himself”

Sir Alex Ferguson has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo and said he was the “perfect example of someone who made himself”.

The Real Madrid striker spent six seasons at Manchester United playing under the legendary Scot after he signed him from Sporting Lisbon.

Many have previously claimed that the managerial prowess of Ferguson was crucial to Ronaldo’s development in becoming the best player in the world.

But his former boss dismissed this notion.

Talking in Nuremburg, after being awarded with the prestigious Walther Bensemann prize on Friday night, Ferguson opened up about his former player.

He said: “[Cristiano] Ronaldo is a perfect example of someone who made himself.

“It’s easy for me to say, ‘yeah I made Ronaldo’. Many coaches might say I made this player and I made that player, but Ronaldo made himself.

“We just gave him the tools and the platform to excel.”

Ferguson, who brought the first ever Portuguese player to represent Manchester United to the club in 2003, explained that it was his “incredible practise ethic” that saw him succeed.

He added: “He was a fantastic player, he was the best.

“We had fantastic players in [Paul] Scholes, [Ryan] Giggs, and [Eric] Cantona. We had some fantastic footballers, but Ronaldo was just something else.”