Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has opened up on Cristiano Ronaldo’s tough start to life at the club and revealed how his swift adaptation to life in England forced United to change their tactics.
Ronaldo became United’s first ever Portuguese player when joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and his transfer made him the most expensive teenager in English football history.
He was given a standing ovation after his debut against Bolton Wanderers but it wasn’t until November when he scored his first United goal.
Giggs revealed that the start to his United career was challenging for the winger.
“You could never forsee him being one of the greatest goal scorers ever, you just couldn’t,” he told beIN SPORTS .
“We’d just played against him in pre-season and seen the talent.
“His first game against Bolton, he delighted the crowd, but there was a dip.
“When to pass, when not to, too many dribbles, a bit of diving – it was a tough start for him at United.”
However, soon enough, Ronaldo became the most important player in the United squad and Giggs revealed his teammates instantly recognised the impact he was having on games.
The Welshman said the squad’s mentality quickly changed to give the ball to Ronaldo whenever possible despite having a star-studded squad around him.
Giggs added: “All of a sudden, everything just clicked.
“It was a case of get the ball to Cristiano.
“Even in a United team with [Carlos] Tevez, [Paul] Scholes, [Wayne] Rooney – he was the one who could make the difference.
“He was the one who would get you out of difficult situations and became a goal scorer.
“He became a match winner on the biggest stage.”
