Manchester United used two qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo to turn him into the world’s best player

Rene Meulensteen has opened up about the detailed training ground work he did with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo before he really came to prominence at Manchester United.

Ronaldo needs no introduction to his achievements at Old Trafford and beyond, while he continues to score goals for Saudi Professional League side Al Nasr this season. The 38-year-old has scored 14 goals in 15 games so far this season while his former club Manchester United continue to struggle.

A skilled winger during his formative years, Ronaldo later developed into an elite goalscorer with the help of Manchester United’s coaches. The Portugal captain then took his matches against European giants Real Madrid and Juventus to another level.

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His second spell at United didn’t go as planned, but his former assistant coach Meulensteen explains that the iconic footballer possessed two outstanding qualities that convinced him he would become the best player on the planet. One of the most feared goalscorers.

Speaking on the latest episode of Sacked in the Morning, he said: “The two words that immediately come to mind are drive and focus. He was only 18 when he joined Manchester United but he is very, very talented.”

“When you have a lot of talent, the key for us is to unlock that potential. I was lucky enough that one season he was suspended – I think it was 2008 – so he couldn’t play four games and he wasn’t Will compete.” I was on a business trip and I worked with him for two or three days in a row.

“He’s very skilled, but sometimes he’s doing it for the step-up, maybe not to get him past his marker. That needs to bring more of an end product.”

“I think he can be more clinical in front of goal. I want to change Cristiano from a guy who can score goals to a goalscorer and I need him to understand the difference.”

Meulensteen, who has managed two spells at Manchester United, added: “I hope he understands that if you want to score goals you have to change your attitude. Cristiano has always been a player who wants to score the most beautiful goals or The player who scored the most important goals.”

“I want him to understand that he needs to score as many goals as possible. Even in training, scoring goals doesn’t mean anything, every goal is important. For all the goals he scored in training, he Will eventually go on to score points for them in a game.

“You want to make sure you’re giving your best and when the big moments of the game come you’ll be aware of it because you’ve already scored in training. So your focus can be entirely on execution rather than results. because that’s why a lot of people’s opportunities are often passed up.”