"RONALDO MADE HIMSELF"- SIR ALEX FERGUSON HEAPS ENCOMIUMS ON HIS FORMER PROTEGE

Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has refused to take any credit, for transforming Cristiano Ronaldo into a superstar.

The Scot, who bought Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, insists that the Real Madrid forward made himself a world-class player.

Ferguson was speaking while accepting the Walther Bensemann prize for outstanding work in football.

“Ronaldo is a perfect example of someone who made himself,” he said.

“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. His practice ethics was incredible”, he added.

Ferguson also stated that Ronaldo was on a different level, when compared to other Old Trafford legends.

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

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