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CRISTIANO RONALDO considered quitting football before his big break at Manchester United due to constant bullying, loneliness and homesickness.Though now one of the greatest players in history, Ronaldo had to overcome considerable adversity during his days at Sporting Lisbon’s academy.
Cristiano Ronaldo struggled in Sporting’s academyCredit: Reuters
He went on to become one of the greatest players of all timeCredit: AFP
A new book claims the Red Devils star — who went on to win five Champions League titles and five Ballon d’Ors — almost packed it up as he struggled to fit in with fellow kids.
Ronaldo was born in February 1985 on the island of Madeira — 535 miles from the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
He was recruited by Sporting at the age of 12 but his first few years were so tough that a new book published this week claims Ronaldo:

Was teased mercilessly for his heavy Madeiran accent by other boys.
Got into a series of bust-ups and scrapes in the schoolyard.
Once became so angry when he felt a teacher was making fun of the way he spoke, he threw a chair at her.
Cried every day for months as he missed his family and local friends.

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According to the book, Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game the 37- year-old thought about leaving before he had made the first XI.
It is also claimed Sporting directors threatened to send him home if his attitude did not improve as he produced bad grades in lessons and was frequently absent from class.
In the end, an agreement was made after almost a year that allowed Ronaldo to quietly drop his studies and focus on his football.
As he would later explain: “I always felt that I wasn’t cut out for school. So what was the point?”
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Ronaldo is renowned for his impeccable physique but, as a teenager, he was initially not allowed inside the gymnasium.
While he could concentrate on football full-time by the age of 14, his plans to bulk up and build muscles — so he would not be easily knocked off the ball — were blocked by hierarchy at the Portuguese giants. At the time, the club’s academy had strict limits on the amount of time young players were permitted to work out.
It was one of the golden rules laid down by academy executive Aurelio Pereira, who said: “We never put children in gyms. That is one of the secrets behind our players’ long careers. It’s important to let them grow naturally.”
As a result, Ronaldo — who told his peers he would be “the best in the world one day” — started sneaking out of the dormitory at night to lift weights in the gym.
When the Sporting coaches caught him, they punished him with detention. Other times they had to padlock shut the gym during the evenings.
Ronaldo refused to stop and he even took BUCKETS into the showers after training, filling them with water to use as weights for squats and push-ups.
When the buckets were taken away, he began strapping weights to his ankles and racing cars away from stoplights on the street.
And when coaches took the balls away after training to stop him from overdoing it, he found a bowl of fruit in the cafeteria and ball juggled with ORANGES.
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Sporting fitness coach Carlos Bruno recalled of Ronaldo’s dedication: “He always wanted more.
“Most players, when the training goes on too long, they say, ‘Hey, coach, too much water kills the plant, you know?’ Cristiano was a guy who always wanted more water in the plant.”
l Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs and the Era That Remade the World’s Game, by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg, is published by Mariner Books and is out tomorrow. More

BRITAIN’s richest man has ruled out bids for Premier League powerhouses Liverpool and Manchester United.The Merseysiders were recently put up for sale by their American owners Fenway Sports Group after 12 years of ownership.
John W Henry has put Liverpool up for saleCredit: GETTY
Speculation is also rife that the Glazers will soon put Manchester United up for saleCredit: PA
But Britain’s richest man has ruled out buying either clubCredit: PA
And speculation is rife that the Glazer family are finally willing to sell up shop after years of protest from angry United fans.
But Sir Jim Ratcliffe won’t be putting himself in the running to take ownership of either north west club and will continue to focus his efforts on getting French outfit Nice to the summit of Ligue 1.
A spokesperson for Ratcliffe told The Telegraph: “Our position has developed since the summer and we are now focusing our efforts in Nice and raising our ambitions for the club to make them into a top-tier club in France to compete with PSG.
“This would represent much better value for our investment than buying one of the top-tier Premier League clubs.”
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It was assumed Ratcliffe would be interested in purchasing Liverpool or United following his failed efforts to acquire Chelsea.
Ratcliffe failed in a £4.25billion bid to take charge of the west Londoners, who are now under the ownership of an American consortium led by Todd Boehly.
The 70-year-old’s decision to rule himself out of buying the Red Devils comes three months after he expressed an interest in buying out the Glazers.
The billionaire, who is a Manchester United fan, can now focus his time and resources on turning Nice into a force capable of dethroning Paris Saint-Germain’s grip on Ligue 1.
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Ratcliffe’s Ineos company bought the French outfit – who are currently in ninth place in the French division – for £91million in 2019.
FSG’s decision to put Liverpool up for sale has perplexed many, although not former Manchester United defender Gary Neville.
During an episode of The Overlap, he said: “It absolutely makes sense.
“They haven’t got the money really, FSG, to compete with the other teams in the league.
“They’ve developed the stadium, they’ve got Jurgen Klopp at a point whereby, how long is he going to be around for? Is it two years, is it three years?
“If that Chelsea valuation, which at this moment in time sets the standard for valuations, they’re thinking now is the time potentially for us to get out because if we dip down the league.
“If people think ‘hang on a minute, Boehly’s overpaid at Chelsea’, and it becomes a bit more of a struggle in the next couple of years, they’re probably thinking now is the right time.”
Neville reckons it won’t be long before the Glazers follow suit and think put United up for sale, saying: “And I think the Glazer family will be in a similar situation. I suspect both of them will be looking for ‘outs’ or ‘part-outs’.”
He added: “The Glazer family, I think there’s a couple of them that want to stay in, but with FSG, they I think put a £3-4bn valuation on Liverpool when they raised some money coming out of Covid. That’s where they put the valuation at.
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“They could probably get that at this moment in time, they might not be able to get that in two or three years.
“And they certainly can’t compete financially with some of the other clubs in the league. So I think it’s not as big a surprise when you look at some of the evidence surrounding it.”
Manchester United legend Gary Neville reckons the Glazers could soon sell upCredit: AP More

JACK WILSHERE has heaped praise on Arsenal’s rising star Ethan Nwaneri.The 15-year-old was watched by Wilshere during an under-18s game against Manchester United.
Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest Premier League player of all time when he played against BrentfordCredit: Getty
The former England midfielder is the current coach of the side and he was left impressed with Nwaneri as he netted twice in the 3-3 draw.
The young midfielder has already made his Premier League debut, coming off the bench in the Gunners’ 3-0 win at Brentford.
That made him the the youngest Premier League player of all time, aged only 15 years and 181 days.
But he has not let the appearance go to his head and is continuing to play well and starred in the game against the young Red Devils.
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Wilshere said: “In the first half, he tried to find the spaces, playing in people’s backs and creating space for himself, and we couldn’t find him a little bit.
“In the second half, he was very good. He was unplayable at times. He had a few good moments.
“In the second half a lot of players stepped up a level, we found some more space.
“We spoke to them a little bit at half-time about a few tactical things which allowed Ethan to get free.
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“We had a really good balance in the team and Ethan was good in the second half.”
Nwaneri has been playing throughout the age groups at Arsenal and has appeared in the Premier League 2, EFL Cup and the Under 18s.
His abilities have also attracted interest from England as he has turned out for the under-17 side six times, scoring three goals. More