Ronaldo's the best I ever worked with, I wouldn't leave until he was signed... and Rooney was vital in making him stay.

Sir Alex Ferguson has described Cristiano Ronaldo as the finest player he ever worked with.
And he pays tribute to Wayne Rooney for convincing Ronaldo to remain a Manchester United player after the controversy of England’s World Cup quarter-final against Portugal.
Ronaldo became public enemy No 1 in England when he winked at the Portugal bench after Rooney’s dismissal for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. Ronaldo was among the first players to complain to the referee about Rooney’s challenge despite the fact they were United team-mates.

Magnificent: Ronaldo scored a 40-yard stunner against Porto that was voted goal of the year in 2008

Winker: Ronaldo's season ended in disgrace when he got Wayne Rooney sent off in the 2006 World Cup

Fresh faced: Alex Ferguson signed Ronaldo for Manchester United in the summer of 2003

In the wake of the furore Ferguson was suddenly faced with the prospect of losing his best player. The United manager writes of how Ronaldo feared it might ‘impossible’ for him to return to Old Trafford. ‘He felt he had burned his boats,’ says Ferguson.
But Ferguson then reveals how key a role Rooney actually played in persuading Ronaldo to stay. Rooney telephoned Ronaldo personally and repeatedly to reassure him that he did not blame him for his dismissal and even suggested to Ferguson that he could give a joint interview to display their unity.
Ferguson thought better of it but Rooney’s generosity proved hugely helpful when Ferguson then flew to Portugal to meet Ronaldo and his agent. He told Ronaldo: ‘You are one of the bravest players to come to United but walking away isn’t courage.’
He also reminded Ronaldo of the courage David Beckham displayed after his red card in the 1998 World Cup.   

Sir Alex Ferguson: Once United get going they'll be fine

Hot shot: Ronaldo sparkles for Sporting Lisbon against Manchester United

Young gun: Ronaldo scored three goals in 25 appearances for Sporting Lisbon

Champions: Ronaldo won the FA Cup alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy when they beat Millwall 3-0 in 2004

Reckless: Rooney getting to grips with Ronaldo before he had signed for Manchester United

Ferguson describes Ronaldo as the ‘most gifted player I managed’ and says the only players who came close were Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. ‘He surpassed all the other great ones I managed at United.’
And he writes of the haste with which they signed him after a friendly against Sporting Lisbon in 2003. He says the then 17-year-old gave John O’Shea a ‘migraine’ and sent the club kit man to get chief executive Peter Kenyon from the stands at half-time, telling him: ‘We’re not leaving this ground until we’ve got that boy signed.’
Ferguson and Kenyon spoke to Ronaldo and his agent immediately after the game and the following day United flew him to Manchester on a private jet.

Goalscoring boots: Ronaldo grabs a goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Newcastle

Back of the net: He won the Golden Boot in 2007/08 with a massive 42 goals in all competitions

Penalty shootout: He did celebrate winning the Champions League when they beat Chelsea in the 2008 final

Showman: Ronaldo catches the ball with his jersey during a Portugal training session at the Stade de la Maladiere in Neuchatel, Switzerland

International class: Ronaldo celebrates Portugal's second goal against Holland at Euro 2012

Modest: Ronaldo has scored 43 goals in 107 appearances for Portugal

European Cup for Ferguson, the player asked to leave for Real Madrid.

But Ferguson was incensed by Madrid president Ramon Calderon’s public declaration in that summer of 2008 that Ronado would soon be a Madrid player. He summoned Ronaldo to a meeting and reached an agreement with him that day stating that he would allow him to leave a year later but could not be seen to be bowing to the pressure exerted by Calderon.
‘I’d rather shoot you than sell you to that guy now,’ he told Ronaldo.
He said other United players were in awe of his talent but he did get ‘pelters’ from his colleagues when he first joined United for crying out in pain every time he was tackled in training.
He described first seeing Ronaldo as ‘the biggest surge of excitement and anticipation I experienced in football management’.
Only when he saw a young Paul Gascoigne at Newcastle had he ever experienced something similar. Ferguson tried to sign Gazza but lost out to Tottenham.
Ferguson writes of how he was once asked to compare Messi and Ronaldo and talks of Ronaldo possessing ‘better physique’ with two feet and being faster and better in the air. But there is also a beautiful description of Messi’s gifts, saying when the ball lands at his feet ‘it’s as if it has landed on a bed of feathers.

Paraded: The crowds were full when Ronaldo was presented in Madrid

In shape: He made his mark early on the Madrid faithful after moving for a world record £80m transfer fee

Coming back to haunt them: He scored a booming header against United when they went to the Bernabeu in the Champions League last 16 last season