Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has disclosed that he was dumbstruck by the appearance of Brazilian Legend Ronaldo when the red devils clashed with Inter Milan in 1999 in the Champions League.
Ronaldo returned to face Manchester United after missing out on the first encounter of the two legged affair and former player of the English club has explained how he nearly wet his pants when he laid eyes on the former Barcelona and Real Madrid superstar.
Cole told the Beautiful Game Podcast: “I remember when we played Inter Milan that same season and I lined up in the tunnel and I saw Ronaldo. I’m not gonna lie, I nearly wet myself!.
“This is the guy I’ve watched for years. I’m talking about a baller, a straight baller. He had everything in the locker and I’m standing in the tunnel at the San Siro and I’m saying: ‘This is sick!’, but when you’re at that level and you think, ‘Man, I’m actually at this level with these guys. I’m on the same pitch as these guys, I’m on that level’, it’s surreal.
“I’m always honest and I’m always open when it comes to things like this. Playing against these kinds of guys.
“It’s something that when I do take the opportunity to look back, I say to my boys: ‘I’ve done alright. I’ve half made it!’.
“If you speak to a lot of the kids now and you speak about Brazilian Ronaldo, they look at you like you’ve got three heads because they don’t know who he is,” he added. “If we take away his injuries, he could have gone on to win Ballon d’Or after Ballon d’Or and scored a zillion goals. He was a baller! He was an absolute baller.
“Of course, we’re gonna talk about Cristiano Ronaldo on that level as R9 because that’s what we see now, that’s what the kids see now – but if you take away that injury, he was sick, a proper baller.”
