00:03A few weeks ago, they nominated the best 11 ever for Ballon d'Or, so I was there, of course.
00:12You can never accuse Cristiano Ronaldo of hiding his light under a bushel.
00:19But he is the most prolific international goal scorer of all time.
00:25And the only man to score in five World Cups.
00:30He's been awarded five Ballon d'Or, named Player of the Year in England, Spain and Italy.
00:37And Captain Portugal to their first major title.
00:45He has been one of the defining individuals of the 21st century, and a figure of historical greatness in his
00:53homeland.
00:58In 2003 or 2004, when I was his last coach in Portugal, at 18, we already saw everything this player
01:06would be.
01:10It's hard to describe. Ronaldo is a genius.
01:14There are geniuses in painting, and he is a genius in football.
01:21With adoration like that, the staggering fandom on social media, and the billions in the bank account,
01:27it's little wonder Ronaldo is not short of self-assurance.
01:31To speak about myself, individual, I don't need to speak, because the numbers they don't like.
01:36But Ronaldo had to work hard to earn this status, and he has worked harder than anybody in the game's
01:42history to maintain it.
01:45Without sacrifice, you do not achieve nothing.
01:49As you know, I started to play since I was in the top level, 18, and I was in the
01:53top of the game 15 years, 16.
01:57So, it's my dedication, my passion, my ambition, and working hard all the time.
02:02So, this is why I'm continuing to be in the top of the world, in terms of performance, trophies, goals,
02:11records.
02:12So, I will continue.
02:14He is now passing on those life lessons to his eldest son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.,
02:20who was called up to the Portugal under-16 squad in 2025.
02:26Ronaldo's own childhood was far from straightforward.
02:29He grew up on the Portuguese island of Madeira,
02:32and then struggled with homesickness when his talents took him to Lisbon.
02:37He was a callow 18-year-old when Manchester United signed him in something of an impulse purchase by Sir
02:43Alex Ferguson,
02:44after the then-sporting winger tormented his side's defence in a pre-season friendly.
02:52Despite obvious gifts, Ronaldo was no overnight success in England's industrial north,
02:59taking time to convert his propensity for step-overs and buying fouls into goals and assists.
03:07But by his fourth season at Old Trafford, it had all come together,
03:11and 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,
03:21and most spectacularly of all, leaping for headers.
03:28The peak years were spent at Real Madrid, where he moved for 94 million euros in the summer of 2009.
03:3680,000 fans packed into the Bernabeu to greet him,
03:39and they spent the next decade enraptured by their hero.
03:44In nine staggering seasons in Spain, Ronaldo scored a scarcely believable 450 goals in just 438 appearances,
03:54becoming the storied club's all-time leading scorer.
04:01He won the Champions League on four occasions in Madrid,
04:04to go with the one he had secured previously with United.
04:08Tell me who's the best player in the world.
04:10Me!
04:14In any other era, he would have scooped up every individual award for years on end.
04:20But this wasn't any era, so he had to settle for only five Ballons d'Or.
04:26He's won this award five times, which is an unbelievable achievement.
04:32I thought it was very good to win one award,
04:34but to win it five times just goes to prove that he's one of the best players that have ever
04:40walked on this planet.
04:40The reason Ronaldo's statistical feats haven't always translated into individual honours
04:46is, of course, the presence of Lionel Messi.
04:50But then, would Ronaldo have reached and maintained such great heights without the motivation to prove he was the best,
04:58week in, week out,
04:59with such a talented rival continually upping the stakes?
05:05Well, after the age most mortal footballers are considering hanging up their boots,
05:10Ronaldo continues to find the back of the net.
05:15Approaching 40, he was Portugal's leading scorer in the 2024-25 Nations League group phase,
05:22while at the same time averaging a goal per game for Al Nasser in the Saudi Pro League.
05:29All the while, demonstrating the same desperation to succeed as ever.
05:34Never shy in thumping the pitch in frustration, while crying in despair.
05:42Approaching 41, he continued to find the back of the net in UEFA qualifying Group F,
05:48driving his side-on to another major tournament,
05:51where he would leave the owner of a staggering array of records.
05:56For all the goals, endorsements, and celebrity,
06:00this is the crucial through-line in Ronaldo's career.
06:05From breaking into Sporting's gym to do extra training as a skinny teenager,
06:10to exposing his emotions to the world as a billionaire in a retirement league,
06:15Ronaldo's commitment to maximising every ounce of his potential has never wavered.
06:22And commonly healthy and motivated, it may never diminish.
Comments