00:05A few weeks ago, they nominated the best 11 ever for Ballon d'Or, so I was there, of course.
00:14You can never accuse Cristiano Ronaldo of hiding his light under a bushel.
00:20But he is the most prolific international goalscorer of all time.
00:27And the only man to score in five World Cups.
00:31He's been awarded five Ballon d'Or, named Player of the Year in England, Spain and Italy.
00:38And Captain Portugal to their first major title.
00:47He has been one of the defining individuals of the 21st century,
00:51and the figure of historical greatness in his homeland.
00:59In 2003 or 2004, when I was his last coach in Portugal, at 18, we already saw everything this player
01:07would be.
01:12It's hard to describe. Ronaldo is a genius. There are geniuses in painting, and he is a genius in football.
01:22With adoration like that, the staggering fandom on social media, and the billions in the bank account,
01:29it's little wonder Ronaldo is not short of self-assurance.
01:33To speak about myself, individual, I don't need to speak because the numbers they don't like.
01:38But Ronaldo had to work hard to earn this status, and he has worked harder than anybody in the game's
01:44history to maintain it.
01:47Without sacrifice, you do not achieve nothing.
01:51As you know, I started to play since I was in the top level, 18, and I was in the
01:55top of the game 15 years, 16.
01:59So, it's my dedication, my passion, my ambition, and working hard all the time.
02:04So, this is why I'm continuing to be in the top of the world in terms of performance, trophies, goals,
02:13records.
02:14So, I will continue.
02:16He is now passing on those life lessons to his eldest son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.,
02:21who was called up to the Portugal under-16 squad in 2025.
02:28Ronaldo's own childhood was far from straightforward.
02:30He grew up on the Portuguese island of Madeira, and then struggled with homesickness when his talents took him to
02:37Lisbon.
02:39He was a callow 18-year-old when Manchester United signed him in something of an impulse purchase by Sir
02:45Alex Ferguson,
02:46after the then-sporting winger tormented his side's defence in a pre-season friendly.
02:54Despite obvious gifts, Ronaldo was no overnight success in England's industrial north,
03:00taking time to convert his propensity for step-overs and buying fouls into goals and assists.
03:08But by his fourth season at Old Trafford, it had all come together,
03:13and he went on to play in beast mode for most of the following 20 years,
03:17perfecting the art of dribbling, long-range shooting, free kicks, and most spectacularly of all, leaping for headers.
03:29The peak years were spent at Real Madrid, where he moved for €94 million in the summer of 2009.
03:3780,000 fans packed into the Bernabeu to greet him, and they spent the next decade enraptured by their hero.
03:45In nine staggering seasons in Spain, Ronaldo scored a scarcely believable 450 goals in just 438 appearances,
03:56becoming the storied club's all-time leading scorer.
04:02He won the Champions League on four occasions in Madrid, to go with the one he had secured previously with
04:09United.
04:10Tell me who's the best player in the world.
04:11Me!
04:16In any other era, he would have scooped up every individual award for years on end.
04:21But this wasn't any era, so he had to settle for only five Ballons d'Or.
04:28He's won this award five times, which is an unbelievable achievement.
04:33I thought it was very good to win one award, but to win it five times just goes to prove
04:38that he's one of the best players that have ever walked on this planet.
04:42The reason Ronaldo's statistical feats haven't always translated into individual honours is, of course, the presence of Lionel Messi.
04:52But then, would Ronaldo have reached and maintained such great heights without the motivation to prove he was the best,
04:59week in, week out,
05:00with such a talented rival continually upping the stakes?
05:06Well, after the age most mortal footballers are considering hanging up their boots, Ronaldo continues to find the back of
05:14the net.
05:17Approaching 40, he was Portugal's leading scorer in the 2024-25 Nations League group phase,
05:24while at the same time averaging a goal per game for Al Nasser in the Saudi Pro League.
05:30All the while demonstrating the same desperation to succeed as ever.
05:35Never shy in thumping the pitch in frustration, or crying in despair.
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