PAUL SCHOLES claims Cristiano Ronaldo must thank his team-mates for their “sacrifices” over the years to help him reach 700 goals.
Manchester United legend Scholes believes other players have given up part of their own game to cover for Ronaldo not tracking back.
The ex-England midfielder admits he “never thought” Ronaldo would go on to score so freely after they played together at Old Trafford from 2003-2009.
But Scholes saluted the Portugal hero’s landmark haul of goals as “absolutely amazing, sensational”.
And te Salford-born pass-master believes Ron, 37, is “still going strong” despite struggling for starts under Erik ten Hag in his second season back with the Red Devils.
Scholes told BT Sport: “When he first came over from Sporting Lisbon… he was a little bit flash, a little bit cocky with all the skills.
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“But he soon learnt that he had to start producing goals, making goals, scoring goals.
“I never thought he would go on to score 700 goals. I never really saw that as a young player.
“But what he did then for the next few years at Manchester United, and then going onto Real Madrid in Spain and being so successful, he is a sensational footballer.”
Scholes added: “He became a centre-forward when he went to Real Madrid, he never really played that position here.
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“He was a wide player that didn’t really run back so people had to sacrifice themselves for that, and that’s why he scored so many goals.
“But to then turn himself into a number nine, a target man really, and his finishing is just brilliant.”
Scholes’ former United and England team-mate Owen Hargreaves also hailed Ron for his “ridiculous” stats.
And he labelled the five-time Ballon d’OR winner as the “difference maker” in his golden first era at Old Trafford.
Hargreaves told BT Sport: “We had Scholesy, a genius footballer, we had Giggsy, we had David Beckham, we had all these guys.
But Cristiano is six foot one, he’s quick with both feet, he can jump, he can do virtually everything.
“There were a lot of great players, but he was the difference maker.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
