Cristiano Ronaldo has had many influences in his career but the Real Madrid superstar attributes a great deal of credit to three of his former Manchester United colleagues.
The Portuguese picked up his fifth Ballon d'Or award this week to tie with Lionel Messi for the most all time.
But the 32-year-old admits he would not have had as much success with Los Blancos had it not been for three United greats.
"Since I was 14, 15 or 16 years old I knew that I was different from other kids," Ronaldo admitted. "I did different things.
"I realized that I was good at Manchester United, when I played with players like Giggs, Keane or Ferdinand. I had talent.
"The English mentality is different and those people helped me a lot to be what I am now. I have to thank my colleagues in Manchester. "
Ronaldo has endured a 10-year battle with Lionel Messi to claim the throne as the game's No.1 player and the 32-year-old hopes their rivalry continues for years to come.
"I hope to play at this level for a few more years, I hope the battle with Messi continues, things happen for a reason," he said.
"I feel good this season and we'll see what we win at the end of the year.
"I'm happy at Madrid, I want to stay there, I would like to finish my career at Madrid if possible."