‘We don’t know the end!’ - Cristiano Ronaldo’s rise from Man Utd ‘prodigy’ to Al-Nassr ‘leader’ lauded by former team-mate as Portuguese GOAT heads towards 40th birthday

Mikael Silvestre played alongside the Portuguese superstar during his early days at Manchester United, with a move to Old Trafford from Sporting completed while still in his teens. More than 20 years later and CR7 is still going strong at the age of 39.

He is showing no sign of slowing down, with there a desire on his part to reach 1,000 career goals before giving any thought to retirement. Ronaldo has come a long way from humble beginnings, as one of the most recognisable figures on the planet, and is a source of inspiration to millions.

Silvestre will never get tired of Ronaldo’s sporting fairy tale and has told Al-Nassr’s official media of a remarkable journey that remains far from finished: “I had the chance to play with him for four seasons. If we start at the beginning, when he first came he was a bit shy but soon enough he became one of the stars of the team. At that time it wasn’t easy but he made his mark. He left his native Portugal, he adapted quickly – he wasn’t speaking the language but on the field, when he started he was already making a lot of waves. He was a prodigy.

“After that he has just raised and raised and is still going at his age. This is unbelievable what he’s achieving. We don’t know the end, he hasn’t said when he wants to stop. I think it’s fantastic to have him at Nassr and doing what he does as a leader, as a captain, as a goalscorer. He’s everything they need and it’s something fantastic for Saudi in general to have him.”

Ronaldo hit 50 goals for Al-Nassr in all competitions last season, becoming the first man to win Golden Boots in four different countries, and has remained in record-breaking mode at the start of 2024-25 – with there no need for him to consider hanging up his boots any time soon.