Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Manchester United when he was only 18 years old. The native Portuguese speaker wasn’t comfortable in English during his early days at the English club, which was evident in his first interview with Sky Sports.
The pacey winger was brought into the limelight by his teammate, Gary Neville, in a post-match interview. Neville called Ronaldo behind the camera and asked him to join the interview. The interview started with a few questions about the match with Neville.
The right-back was the match-winner on the occasion against Leicester and commented about their title race with Arsenal. Neville shifted the focus of the interview to Ronaldo by commenting on his incredible performance and how he caused problems for the opposition on his wing.
The interviewer then moved towards Ronaldo and asked: “Yes Cristiano, How did you enjoy tonight”? The Portuguese winger was a little shy considering he wasn’t fluent in English. He knew certain phrases which he used in this interview. Ronaldo responded to the first question by saying: “Good performance, team wins, it’s important.”
The interviewer followed up by asking: “Are you feeling more and more confident with each game”? Ronaldo paused and replied while laughing: “Ha ha I no understand, I no understand, sorry!” Neville jumped in to help his teammate, but Ronaldo kept on saying ‘Sorry’ to end the interview from his side. Neville and the interviewer laughed at the situation and continued with a few more questions.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s stats in his first season at Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Manchester United in 2003 after an impressive debut in Sporting Lisbon. During his first season, he played 40 games for the English side in all competitions. For an 18-year-old, that is an impressive start to his tenure in England.
A brief history of Ronaldo’s first stint with Manchester United, including young Cristiano on the day he signed in 2003! pic.twitter.com/nOW2KG4EiA
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 27, 2021
In those 40 appearances, he scored six goals and assisted another eight. Ronaldo failed to win the Premier League in his debut season, as United finished third behind Arsenal and Chelsea. However, the Portuguese did lift the FA Cup title by scoring a goal in the final against Millwall in a 3-0 victory. Ronaldo was influential in the cup run, as he scored two goals and three assists in five matches in the cup.
The first season established the Portuguese winger in the main squad of Manchester United. In the next season, he played 50 games in all competitions and scored nine goals and nine assists. Over the years, Ronaldo improved his English and became more confident in front of the camera, which made this first interview an important part of his playing career.