Phil Neville has joked that Cristiano Ronaldo should thank him for playing a part in his first move to Manchester United.
Ronaldo is back at United after making a dramatic move from Juventus in the closing stages of the summer transfer window.
The move came 18 years after his original transfer to Old Trafford from boyhood club Sporting Lisbon back in 2003.
United paid a fee of around £13million to make Ronaldo the most expensive teenager in the history of British football at the time.
They were rewarded with 118 goals in 292 games as United won three Premier League titles, two League Cups, the Champions League and FA Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2003 and 2009.
Ronaldo’s first spell at the club was hugely successful and former United player Neville believes he played a part in making it happen after being given the run-around in a match against Sporting in 2003.
“I think Cristiano's got to thank me a lot you know because I played in that game in Sporting Lisbon when he kept dancing past me down that wing,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“The game when after the game Sir Alex signed him in the dressing room.
“I played in that game and you witnessed in 90 minutes someone that was going to be very special, no doubt about it.
“And it's not often you can say that about someone.
“So I just hope he comes up to me after the game and says thanks for your efforts in helping me get where I am today.”
Former United defender Mikael Silvestre has backed up Neville’s story of that fateful match.
“Phil Neville came straight off the pitch and walked up to Sir Alex in the dressing room,” Silvestre later said.
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“‘Boss, you have to sign him, you just have to!’ Sir Alex just said: ‘OK, OK, don't worry, we are going to get it sorted’.”
Neville and Silvestre’s stories are corroborated by Ferguson’s account of the transfer from the time.
"After we played Sporting last week, the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him. That's how highly they rated him," he told the club website.
"He is one of the most exciting young players I've ever seen."
United won the race to sign the 18-year-old winger on a five-year contract and enjoyed six years of his talent before selling him to Real Madrid for £80m in 2009.
Ryan Giggs also played in that match against Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and was similarly impressed by what he saw.
“You see Ronaldo get the ball, and you see him turn John O'Shea inside out, and you're having a little giggle to yourself,” Giggs told ITV in 2016.
“He just lit up the game, all the lads were talking to him after the game and I remember we were waiting on the coach and everybody was wondering what we were waiting for.
“And then we just got a little whisper that the deal was being done for £13m.”
