Sir Alex Ferguson left Man Utd squad in car park to sign Cristiano Ronaldo

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Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly left his players in a car park before in order to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 13-time Premier League winner was so impressed by the Portuguese winger that he tried to sign him straight after his side played Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly.

It meant that the United players were left stranded outside the stadium in the car park waiting to return home, according to Nicky Butt.

United ended up signing Ronaldo for a fee of around £15 million in 2003, where he spent six years at the club before moving to Real Madrid in 2009.

In those six years in Manchester, he won a Champions League, three Premier Leagues, two League Cups, an FA Cup and a Club World Cup.

The Portuguese also picked up his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 at the age of just 23, becoming the first United player to win the accolade since George Best.

Nicky Butt, speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at the launch of their European Championships 5-a-side Bet, said: “We'd got onto the pitch and this young kid was just electrifying. We were all just looking at him and thinking 'wow'.

“We were all making excuses after the game; we were tired, it was a rubbish game, and we ended up sat on the team coach for about three hours.

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“Everyone is getting annoyed because we just want to go, but it turns out the manager and David Gill were in the stadium pretty much signing Cristiano Ronaldo there and then.

“He came to our training ground, a young, tall but skinny young lad; a really nice lad, he had bags of pace, bags of skill and he was very determined.

“You'd kick him in training and he'd get up, get the ball and run at you again and again.

“Honestly, we didn't expect him to be anywhere near the level he's now at; we knew we had a super talent and we knew he was a top player.”

  • Manchester United FC
  • Sir Alex Ferguson
  • Cristiano Ronaldo

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