Cristiano Ronaldo Speaks on Angel Di Maria, Sir Alex Ferguson and More

Cristiano Ronaldo has lifted the lid on a particular memory of former Real Madrid team-mate Angel Di Maria, opening up on his move to Manchester United and the opportunity to play under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Portugal captain was speaking in London ahead of the premiere of his new film, Ronaldo, and confessed Di Maria, now at Paris Saint-Germain, was lacking in morale near the end of their 2014 Champions League final, per the Mirror's John Cross:

"

I love the pressure. When I do not feel the pressure, I want to take my boots, put them on the side and say: ‘that’s it.’ 

It has always been about success and winning. If I had to choose one title then the Champions League would be the most important.

At 88 minutes gone in the final, I looked for Di Maria and I saw him face down thinking: ‘we have a better team but we are going to lose.’ But I always believe. I will always say that it doesn’t matter if you play good or bad, as long as you win. In 20 years, no-one will look back and say; ‘they played better, they created more chances.’ It just depends on who wins.

"

Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin put Los Rojiblancos ahead in the final until Sergio Ramos equalised deep into stoppage time, after which Real went on to claim a 4-1 win in extra time, with Ronaldo among the scorers.

Winning La Decima was just part of the puzzle that's formed Ronaldo's success story, which is chronicled in the new documentary that showcases his rise from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of the sport.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

The 30-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 and made his first strides into the spotlight as a Red Devil, where it was Sir Alex Ferguson who oversaw arguably the most important stage of his development.

Ronaldo went on to emphasise the role super-agent Jorge Mendes played in taking his talents to Manchester United more than a decade ago and what it meant for Ferguson to place so much trust in his ability:

"

With United I have a great passion. What Jorge did for me at 18 with the words of Ferguson was a dream. To play in Sporting and move was 'wow, what is that?'

When Ferguson wanted me and said I'd play 50 per cent of the games that was unbelievable. I took that decision because Jorge helped me. The last word from Ferguson was key also.

"

From there, Ronaldo evolved into the three-time Ballon d'Or winner and world-beating talent we see today, but it's clear he uses every step taken in his past to ensure an even brighter future lies ahead.

Ronaldo will look to paint the world a more expansive picture of what makes arguably the best player to have ever lived tick, and his candid comments regarding the past go some way to illustrating what makes him so mighty.