Edwin van der Sar reveals the secret that made Cristiano Ronaldo become a better player than Wayne Rooney

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der
Sar has revealed the lengths that Cristiano Ronaldo
would go to to become the very best when he was at
Old Trafford.
And they included the Dutchman making some
sacrifices of his own.
Speaking in the November issue of FourFourTwo
magazine, the former United stopper was asked why
it was Ronaldo and not fellow teammate Wayne
Rooney who kicked on to become the player that we
know today, when both were considered to be at a
similar level when they were younger.
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And the 46-year-old - who won four Premier League
titles and the 2008 Champions League with the club -
gave a fairly detailed answer.
"They both worked incredibly hard on the pitch, but
Cristiano took it up a level," he said.
"Off the field, Ronaldo was also focusing on
everything extensively, such as resting up properly
and strengthening his body.
"After training sessions he would often work on his
free-kicks and then come to me and say: "Edwin, can
you go in goal?"
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"I'd say I was old so he would be better off using one
of the youth-team keepers, but he would insist I went
in goal as he wanted to score past me.
"I would tease him a lot and say things like: "You
won't score against me, Ronnie, you know it. Ask the
reserve goalie, that's better for your confidence.
"He'd get agitated and reply: "No, no. You've got to
go in goal!"
Van der Sar would seemingly oblige, allowing Ronaldo
to hone his technique against one of the best
goalkeepers Europe has seen this century.
And his respect for the Portuguese is still evident.
"Cristiano is a really good guy, however" Van der Sar
added. "And the common perception of him is not a
true reflection of his personality."

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