Roy Keane admitted that Manchester United players poked fun at one former teammate over how his performance ‘sealed the deal’ for the club’s acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson brought club legend Ronaldo to Old Trafford in 2003 as part of a £12.24m deal with Portuguese side Sporting CP.
Ronaldo, who also caught the eye of Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger at the time, wowed United and Ferguson with an impressive performance against the Red Devils.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner put in an inspirational display during the friendly clash against United, with Ronaldo creating two of the chances in Sporting’s 3-1 win.
The friendly match in 2003 marked the opening of Sporting’s home stadium, the Estadio Jose Alvalade, in the capital city of Portugal.
However, Ronaldo’s time at Sporting came to an end after he was snapped up by Ferguson, who named him as one of the four world-class players he managed.
The 38-year-old Portuguese forward would make a sensational impact in his first spell at United, including winning the first of his five Ballon d’Ors at Old Trafford.
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Keane on ex-United teammate vs Ronaldo
Keane was at the tail end of his United career when Ronaldo first arrived at the club, with the Irishman playing alongside him until his exit to Celtic in 2005.
The 52-year-old United legend has held Ronaldo in high regard and praised the Al Nassr superstar’s rise to stardom and path to the top of world football.
Speaking in his 2014 autobiography, Keane recalled how he was left out by Ferguson for the match and how he witnessed first-hand Ronaldo’s brilliance.
The Sky Sports pundit, who opened up on his ruthless axing from the club, said that John O’Shea was “being twisted inside-out” in the match against Sporting CP.
Keane hilariously added that his former United teammates later poked fun at O’Shea and claimed his performance against Ronaldo “sealed the deal” for the club.
“We’d come straight from the west coast of America – I think it was Seattle – and a few of us were left out of the team,” he wrote in his book ‘The Second Half.’
“I liked playing in every game but when the manager left me out of this one I was quite relieved because I was knackered; we all were – jet-lagged.
“I remembered sitting beside Ryan Giggs in the dugout, and the two of us were laughing at some of the other lads out on the pitch.
“We were playing Sporting Lisbon pre-season, to celebrate the opening of their new stadium, and I saw how good Ronaldo was that day.
“He was playing for Sporting and he was up against John O’Shea. Sheasy ended up seeing the club doctor at half-time because he was having dizzy spells; he was being twisted inside-out.
“The club had been watching Ronaldo, and I think they concluded negotiations after the game.
“We always joked with Sheasy that he’d sealed the deal by playing like a f****n’ clown against him. In fairness to Sheasy, he was jet-lagged, liked the rest of us.”
Ronaldo’s experience of Sporting vs United
Ronaldo enjoyed incredible success after his first spell at Old Trafford, with the Portugal international winning four Champions Leagues at Real Madrid.
The former United star carried on his success in Serie A with Juventus and lifted major silverware with the Italian club before his blockbuster return to Manchester.
Despite making a goalscoring impact in his second spell at United, the Portugal captain left Old Trafford for the second time in 2022 after a rift with Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo has previously spoken about his experience of playing against United in 2003 and how it was the “perfect night” in an “unbelievable” match.
“The first game that I played against Manchester United was an unbelievable game,” he said in 2016 (via Sky Sports).
“It was the perfect night, the perfect night.
“After the game, some of my teammates said: ‘Listen, you’re going to go to Manchester, trust me!’
“Sir Alex Ferguson was there, and [they said] he wants to speak with you. I go to the dressing room, he introduced me to the players.”