- Portuguese started out as a tricky winger
- Red Devils transformed him into a striker
- Now the greatest goalscorer of all-time
WHAT HAPPENED? During his early years at Old Trafford – on the back of a 2003 transfer from Sporting – the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was a tricky winger more concerned with putting on a show than bolstering his individual numbers. That soon changed, with former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen helping the hottest of prospects to appreciate the value of end product – to the point that Ronaldo is now the greatest goal-getter that the world has ever seen.
WHAT THEY SAID: Meulensteen, who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester, has told The Athletic of moulding Ronaldo into the fearsome frontman he is today and has been for the best part of 20 years: “When I first talked to him, I asked him how many goals he had scored that season. The answer was 23. ‘So, how many next year?’ I asked. ‘Because I assume you want to do better.’ His target was 30. ‘I think you should score 40,’ I told him. I wanted to change his mindset. For him, it was: ‘I want to score the winner and the most beautiful goal in the world’. I said to him, ‘Cristiano, you just have to score as many goals as you can, mate, those perfect goals will happen but the more variety you add to your game, the more you will keep that clicker going.’ Click, click, click. He had 30 goals by February and finished with 42 — amazing.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ronaldo now has over 720 goals at club level from his spells at United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr, while also registering 123 efforts for his country. He is always working on perfecting his game, with Meulensteen having also helped to tinker with Ronaldo’s now famous free-kick routine. The Dutchman added: “You might have noticed his run-up changed over time. I always felt his run-up was too straight. Anatomically, you cannot generate much power if you are lined up that way. So we talked over his technique. That’s where the two steps back, and one left, came in. If you look at the numbers, there are free-kick takers with a better success rate. But when they do fly in… perfecto!”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Ronaldo is showing no sign of slowing down at 38 years of age, as he continues to star for club and country, and has suggested on a regular basis that he will play on into his 40s – meaning that there are still many more goals to come.