Manchester United legend pinpoints the exact moment he knew Cristiano Ronaldo would become a megastar

As a member of Manchester United's iconic 'Class of '92', Nicky Butt knows all the hallmarks of what makes a superstar.

Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham They all broke into the Red Devils first team at the same time as Butt and were cornerstones of the club's success under his management. Mr Alex Ferguson.

However, none of them ever reached the same heights as the Portuguese icon. Cristiano Ronaldowho spent six seasons at United before moving to real Madrid in 2009.

Butt's final campaign with the Red Devils coincided with RonaldoThe first of them, since the first one moved to Newcastle in 2004.

At the time, Butt felt there was a serious player waiting to be discovered in Ronaldo, but the latter's antics in training made him wonder if that would ever happen.

Asked on talkSPORT's White and Jordan if Ronaldo was the best player he had ever seen, Butt said: “He wasn't when I was there because he had a lot of little flaws that he had to deal with.

“Dribbling, too much jumping. I remember he would get called names in training every time he would dive at the more experienced players. 'Get up. Don't do that.' You know, 'Never dive at this football club.'”

“It's like the story of Ole Gunnar (Solskjaer) when he lunged at the Newcastle player who was running. You have to do it the right way.

“I knew I had the talent to get there, but getting talent is different than actually doing it.

“In my opinion, to be a top-level player, you have to be a top-level human being.”

But three and a half years later, the 49-year-old has watched a transformed Ronaldo tear apart a Premier League rival.

It was then that Butt recognised that Ronaldo had not only reached new heights, but was on his way to the top.

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“I was in Newcastle. I saw the Fulham game,” Butt said.

“It was a tough game and he grabbed the ball by the back of his neck, dribbling past about eight players.

“You think, 'Wow, he's reached the next level.' That's when I think he's one of the best in the world.”

The match in question was when Ronaldo scored the 88th-minute winner to lead United to a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage in February 2007.

As for dribbling past eight players, well, there weren't that many.

But that's not to say Ronaldo didn't evade several Fulham challenges on his way to securing three points for the Red Devils.

He received the ball in his own half and just a few metres from the halfway line and was immediately blocked by two Fulham players.

But Ronaldo passed the ball to one on the left flank and evaded a sliding tackle from the other as he aimed for goal.

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Ronaldo then weaved his way through two Fulham defenders and fired past Fulham goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka.

The following season was when Ronaldo reached a completely different level for United, as he scored 31 goals in 34 Premier League appearances.

But his time at Old Trafford came to an end in 2009 when Real Madrid came knocking with a world-record £80m transfer fee.

From there, Ronaldo cemented his status as one of the best in modern football and of all time, winning five Golden Ball awards and four Champions League titles during his nine seasons with Los Blancos.

Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 to Juventus while looking to conquer another European league.

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He did exactly that when Juventus won Serie A in his first two seasons and the Italian Cup in his third and final campaign in Turin.

A return to United was expected in 2021 but proved to be a nightmare as Ronaldo had his contract terminated in November 2022 after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo now plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr but remains a constant presence for Portugal at international level and scored his 900th career goal in the September international break against Croatia.