The record-breaking Real Madrid forward will face his former employers in the last-16 of the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
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And Neville — now a Sky Sports pundit — says CR7 changed his perception of the game during his time at Old Trafford.
“He bullies the weakest defender. He does it all the time,” Neville said in his capacity as a McDonald’s ambassador. “He did it to Manchester City against Maicon. He will play on the left wing. If he can’t get on the ball he will play centre forward, midfield, right wing.
“He changed my perception,’ he said. ‘We had a midfield four — Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs — I played with Beckham for seven years. They never had the freedom to decide their position on the pitch. Suddenly I didn’t have someone in front of me who would come back and double up on the left winger.
“In those early years he used to go wandering off. He was told to play on the right by Sir Alex Ferguson and would end up on the left. That was unheard of. By the end of Ronaldo’s Manchester United career I was willing him not to chase back so he was free. He just decided his own position, which was based upon where the space was and who was the weak link. He made me realise you didn’t always need to be in your shape.
“We had a player who was beyond a level of talent I had ever seen. He would go and win us game after game. I suppose that is more important,” Neville adds.
Ronaldo is a bully who preys on weak defenders, says former team-mate Gary Neville
GARY NEVILLE RECKONS his former Old Trafford team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo preys on the weaknesses of his opponents.
The record-breaking Real Madrid forward will face his former employers in the last-16 of the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
And Neville — now a Sky Sports pundit — says CR7 changed his perception of the game during his time at Old Trafford.
“He bullies the weakest defender. He does it all the time,” Neville said in his capacity as a McDonald’s ambassador. “He did it to Manchester City against Maicon. He will play on the left wing. If he can’t get on the ball he will play centre forward, midfield, right wing.
“He changed my perception,’ he said. ‘We had a midfield four — Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs — I played with Beckham for seven years. They never had the freedom to decide their position on the pitch. Suddenly I didn’t have someone in front of me who would come back and double up on the left winger.
“In those early years he used to go wandering off. He was told to play on the right by Sir Alex Ferguson and would end up on the left. That was unheard of. By the end of Ronaldo’s Manchester United career I was willing him not to chase back so he was free. He just decided his own position, which was based upon where the space was and who was the weak link. He made me realise you didn’t always need to be in your shape.
“We had a player who was beyond a level of talent I had ever seen. He would go and win us game after game. I suppose that is more important,” Neville adds.
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Champions League Gary Neville Manchester United MUFC Paul Scholes realutd Roy Keane Ryan Giggs