Man Utd midfielder says double gym sessions and Nandos helped make Cristiano Ronaldo great

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Eric Djemba-Djemba has lifted the lid on what it was life working with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, speaking out on how his relentless training habits and taste for Portuguese chicken helped sculpt him from a scrawny teenager into one of the world’s greatest footballers.

Ronaldo is set to make his second debut for Man United against Newcastle on Saturday after signing a two-year deal with the Red Devils.

It will be the first time in 12 years that Ronaldo has made an appearance for the club since leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid in a world record £80million deal in 2009.

The 36-year-old has gone on to establish himself as one of the greatest players to grace the game, scoring 551 goals for Madrid and Juventus in his time away from Manchester.

One of those lucky enough to witness the making of Ronaldo was Djemba-Djemba, who spent two years with him at the club before leaving for Aston Villa in 2005.

He recalled a time in 2002 when Ronaldo, then playing for Sporting Lisbon, dazzled the United players with a sensational display — and claimed he told his boss Sir Alex Ferguson to snap him up.

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As history would have it, United signed Ronaldo for £12.24m in 2003 and it is fair to say he lived up to the potential he showed on that day.

“The first time I met Cristiano was when we played Sporting Lisbon, and I remember he was wearing number 17,” he told British Gambler.

“After the game we all sat in the changing room saying we wanted to sign him because he gave us such a hard time. He was only 17 years old and it was ridiculously how good he was.

“At full-time we sat in the changing room and just said to [Sir] Alex Ferguson; ‘We want this guy. We need this guy’.

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“I remember coming up against him and trying to kick him, but I couldn’t because he was just so fast. I couldn’t even pull his shirt, he was so fast.

“I tried to kick him, but he was just too quick and I couldn’t get him! So I was so happy when we signed him so I didn’t have to chase him again!”

Ronaldo name-checked Ferguson when he detailed the reasons for his return to England, insisting the managerial legend had some influence over his return.

Djemba-Djemba believes the Scot’s training methods, combined with Ronaldo’s desire to improve himself, helped mould him into a tougher player.

”No fouls would be given against Cristiano in training,” he added.

“That was a big part of getting him to become the player he is today.”

Despite Djemba-Djemba’s short time at the club, he still shared a friendly relationship with Ronaldo away from the football pitch.

And it was Ronaldo who introduced his team-mate to the now popular Portuguese franchise Nandos as a post-training ritual.

“Every day, he would arrive first so that he could go to the gym before training, then after training he’d want to go to the gym again,” he added.

“Sometimes I’d say ‘Cristiano, let’s go back home’, because sometimes we’d drive to training together and I’d drive him or he would drive me.

“We’d go to eat at a restaurant – he introduced me to Nandos, and we’d go and have food together – he loved the chicken there, and I’d have spicy chicken.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Ronaldo will “definitely” feature against Newcastle, although it remains unclear if he will be handed a full debut.

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