‘Genius!’ - Cristiano Ronaldo would wink at nervous opponents when beating them as Micah Richards reflects on trying to contain ex-Man Utd superstar

The Portuguese forward took his first steps down a path to global superstardom while on the books at Old Trafford. He started out there as a tricky winger, before being transformed into a record-breaking central goalscorer.

Ronaldo’s mercurial talent often had rivals running scared, with Richards revealing that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would revel in that. The ex-Manchester City defender has told The Rest Is Football podcast: "We've always said that [Lionel] Messi's better. It's just effortless the way he moves around the pitch. But when I played against Ronaldo when he was at Man United - wow! I mean, I couldn't switch off for a second. And this was in a derby. When we're walking up the tunnel at Old Trafford, I was only young at the time, but I was looking to my left and thinking 'oh my god, it's Ronaldo'. I'm in awe of the guy. It was early times when he wasn't just playing on the right wing, he was playing on the left as well."

Richards went on to say: “He would come to me and just do five step-overs in two seconds. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was such a genius. I bought every five of them. I was twisted and tangled before you knew it. He never said anything, but he just used to wink at me all the time. He'd dribble past me, he used to love a Cruyff chop, go past me, go inside and just wink at me. I was swearing at myself, but wow, what a player. And to see him go from that to Real Madrid. Phenomenal.”

Richards first faced Ronaldo in December 2006, with the Portuguese laying on an assist for Wayne Rooney’s opening goal before then going on to net himself. Their final meeting came in May 2009, shortly before a stunning transfer to Real Madrid was completed, with Ronaldo scoring a free-kick in a 2-0 win for United.