Old video shows tough love shown to Ronaldo by Keane for training game mistake

Cristiano Ronaldo had one of the best mentors in Roy Keane as he began his path towards legendary status.

Snapped up by Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2003, a winning mentality was soon ingrained in him.

This was a time when United were still the best in the land and second best was not an option.

And Keane was as fierce a leader as you could find during the late nineties and early noughties, and he ensured Ronaldo knew exactly what was expected of him in addition to his trademark flicks, tricks and stunning finishes.

Those responsibilities included tracking his marker and ensuring his opposite number was unable to cause damage via a cross or shot.

If you didn’t live up to Keane’s high standards then he’d let you know about it, as Ronaldo found out.

After losing his man down his left side that a training ground match, Keane be heard encouraging him, saying: “Come on, Cristiano”. However, when the other side score through a deflected finish, the skipper wasn’t happy, shouting: “Cristiano, come on!”

This introduction to life at Old Trafford has undoubtedly served Ronaldo well.

The 37-year-old has won five ballon D’ors and has netted 142 goals for United during his two spells at the club.

He’s even been seen tracking back and helping out defensively, which Keane would no doubt be happy to see.

His influence on his teammates is clear for all to see, but according to Darren Bent, the Portuguese forward shouldn’t be a contender to follow in Keane’s footsteps by becoming club captain.

Bent said: “I think that David De Gea should be the captain.

“My only thing with Ronaldo is, we know he’s a leader, but he tried to lead this season and not many of the players followed him. Some of them went the other way.

“None of them improved, none of them wanted to follow the example that he set and we know that he’s one of the greats, but there were times when people didn’t pass the ball to him and he’d turn his back on them and throw his arms up in the air.

“That’s not a captain.

“He was a captain this season without having the armband, but for me David De Gea would be my captain.”