Mikael Silvestre has lifted the lid on the hidden role which Gary Neville played in Manchester United's successful pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese winger secured a dream move to Old Trafford in the summer of 2003 after he terrorised United in a pre-season fixture in Lisbon.
Ronaldo, who was then 18, ran United ragged with a mesmerising display as Sporting Lisbon defeated Sir Alex Ferguson's side with a comfortable 3-1 win.
United players were so impressed with the teenager that they urged Ferguson to make a move for the winger, and Silvestre says Neville was the man who led the calls.
"The first time I came across him (Ronaldo) was in 2003, when we played a friendly at Sporting," Silvestre told FourFourTwo.
"In the team talk beforehand, Ferguson mentioned a talented young lad to watch out for. He didn’t mention his name, but we all knew it afterwards!
"He was torturing poor John O’Shea on the left wing, showing off his speed and changes of direction with the ball. We were like, ‘Hmm, it would be good if this guy would wear a United shirt instead…’
"After the match, Gary Neville came into the dressing room and said, 'Sign this kid, gaffer.' Sir Alex just said, 'We’ll see what we can do.'
"I can remember sitting on the team bus waiting to leave, and we were there for quite a bit longer than usual because Sir Alex was speaking to Cristiano and Sporting, convincing him to come to Old Trafford."
