Gary Neville reveals the moment that transformed Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United career

Gary Neville believes Cristiano Ronaldo’s spat with Wayne Rooney at the 2006 World Cup was the moment that changed the Portuguese superstar’s career for the better.

The former Manchester United teammates clashed during the infamous quarter final in Gelsenkirchen, with Ronaldo caught winking at Rooney after he had been sent-off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho, following some serious provocation.

Neville believes the backlash Ronaldo faced from the English press represented a turning point in his career and helped propel him to the sustained levels of excellence the former England defender never imagined he’d be capable of reaching.

‘In his early years at United I didn’t think he’d reach the heights he has,’ Neville told Sky Sports.

‘But after 2005/06 his body completely transformed from being quite thin and skinny to being completely different, as too did his goal scoring, decision making and maturity.

‘Once you saw him playing at that level then you thought ‘wow’.

‘That 2006 to 2008 period was unbelievable.

‘Coming back from the 2006 World Cup was the moment I remember him completely changing.

‘Obviously there was the big incident with Wayne Rooney so he came as someone who was hated nationally and had a bad reputation with the newspapers.”

‘He just seemed to mature overnight and his body completely changed,” Neville added.

‘It was in that instance where I felt the big change was; it wasn’t a particular moment in a football match.’

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