Cristiano shares golden moment with Sir Alex

CARDIFF — Cristiano Ronald showed his enduring affection for Sir Alex Ferguson when greeting him warmly after Real Madrid’s Champions League success.

“Hey boss, how are you?” said the two-goal hero after Real’s 4-1 win against Juventus on Saturday night.

Former Manchester United manager Ferguson later presented Ronaldo with his man of the match award in Cardiff.

Ferguson, who sanctioned the Portuguese striker’s then-world record £80m move to Real in 2009, believed Ronaldo would one-day return to Old Trafford.

United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward tried to re-sign him in 2013 - and has coveted him ever since.

But Ronaldo has gone on to establish himself as arguably Real’s greatest ever player - now leading them to three Champions League triumphs.

“This is one of the best moments of my career but it seems I am able to say that every year,” he said. “People won’t be able to criticise me because the numbers don’t lie.

In his autobiography Ferguson described Ronaldo as “the most gifted player I managed.”

He added: “He surpassed all the other great ones I coached at United - and I had many.

“The only ones who could be placed near him would be a couple of the home-produced players, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, because they contrib- uted so prodigiously to Manchester United for two decades.”

Ferguson also described the events leading up to the player’s move to Real.

“Real Madrid paid £80m in cash for him and do you know why? It was a way for Florentino Perez, their president, to say to the world: ‘We are Real Madrid, we are the biggest of the lot.’

“Ramon Calderon, Perez’ predecessor, had claimed the previous year that Cristiano would one day be a Real Madrid player. I went to Carlos Queiroz’ (Ferguson’s former assistant) house in Portugal to find the boy expressing an urge to go to Real Madrid, and told him: ‘You can’t go this year, not after the way Calderon has approached this issue’. — Manchester Evening News