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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolverine GTR" data-source="post: 20940064" data-attributes="member: 158020">Sir Alex made sure we didn't leave Lisbon without Ronaldo – O'Shea <img src="http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/GOAL_INTERNATIONAL/79/b6/john-oshea-cristiano-ronaldo-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-manchester-united_14gfgn4bjr43w1kcmg6vz9wos8.jpg?t=-2011481416&w=620&h=430" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> Former Manchester United defender John O'Shea has spoken of the intense desire Sir Alex Ferguson displayed in his efforts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo after facing the then youngster in just one game. The Red Devils had been on tour in America prior to facing Sporting CP in the Champions League – the match which helped define Ronaldo's career – and O'Shea, jet-lagged and tasked with marking Ronaldo, was eager to set the record straight regarding his performance against the Portuguese starlet. "On to the game and I'm starting right-back," O'Shea, now captain of Sunderland, told ESPN FC. "Just before the game kicks off, I look up and a young Ronaldo is staring straight at me."He's there and full of concentration, ready to go. "Now in some books written by former colleagues, there have been some highly exaggerated stories, and, believe it or not, about how much Ronnie went past me time after time, and ripped me apart!"My version would be different, but he did have an excellent game. "At one stage, I remember looking at the dugout when the ball had gone out for a throw-in and some of the lads on the bench were having a good laugh, thinking that's the last thing you need when jet-lagged -- a young lad wanting to run at you time and time again, going left, going right, twisting turning, shooting every time he got within distance of the goal. "But in a roundabout way, I take it as a compliment that the boss wanted to sign Ronaldo so quickly after the game, because of how he had performed against me that night." Sir Alex's autobiography suggests that the Red Devils had registered an interest in Ronaldo prior to that night, but the players recall having to sit on the team bus for an hour after that fateful game while the Man Utd boss thrashed out a deal to bring the player to Old Trafford as soon as possible."He wanted him to join straight away rather than staying on loan at Sporting for another year to develop,” O'Shea said. "I believe the deal was in place for Ronaldo to stay in Lisbon and then come to Manchester the following season, but after his display of skill and maturity on the night, the boss made sure we didn't leave Lisbon without him, he was ready. "He didn't turn out a bad player did he?" O'Shea said. "He has scored a few goals and won some trophies! He is the best player in the world now, along with another fella from Argentina."</blockquote>

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