Cristiano Ronaldo embarrassed his teammates with his skillset and what he was able to teach them with his way of playing football.
That is according to Rui Costa – one of the most iconic players in the history of the Portugal national team – who explained Ronaldo’s impact when he was first called up to the international team.
Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal in August 2003 as he came on as a second-half substitute for Luis Figo against Kazakhstan, just a month after he joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon.
By that stage, playmaker Rui Costa – who had made his name as a central figure for Benfica, Fiorentina and Milan – had been in the Portuguese national team setup for a decade.
The attacking midfielder outlined Ronaldo’s instant integration into the senior squad despite being aged just 18 and claimed that his range of skills was embarrassing for senior players.
Have Your Say! Is Cristiano Ronaldo the greatest international footballer of all time? Tell us what you think here.
Ronaldo has gone on to become not only the most capped player in the history of Portugal – playing 182 times and counting for the team – but also the highest scoring international player of all time, with a remarkable 115 goals to his name.
Rui Costa, who is now president of Benfica, is quoted as saying by Diario AS: "I have never played with Messi, but I had the privilege of doing so with Cristiano Ronaldo while he was growing up in the world of football.
"In the national team he was the youngest of all, but he immediately integrated very well and every day he always had a new technique to teach us.
"The truth is that we were embarrassed to try them in training, and we tried to copy him in secret when he was not around.
"Then at dinner at night he only talked about dribbling, while trying to instill in him the importance of team play."
Rui Costa went on to say that Ronaldo’s remarkable achievements within football are no surprise to those who played and trained alongside him in the early stages of his career.
Now aged 36, Ronaldo has gone on to win five Ballon d’Or titles and a plethora of trophies, while he also became the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid with a remarkable 450 goals in just 438 matches.
Rui Costa added: "When he wasn't there, we all said that he would surely win the Ballon d'Or.
"It was noticeable by his way of training, by his talent. We had no doubts.
"We knew that we were playing with an athlete who had extraordinary willpower, he had the head and the feet to be the best.
"And luckily for everyone, that's how it worked out."
Ronaldo has scored 803 goals in his senior career across his clubs and international team – more than any other player in the history of the sport.
