Ronaldo: I never thought I'd be a professional

Cristiano Ronaldo admits he
never truly believed he would
become a professional footballer
when he first began to play the
game as a child.


The Real Madrid and Portugal
sensation began to train with
Andorinha on his home island of
Madeira in his youth, but says he never considered himself
a special talent.
"In my family, we all love football. I remember that one day
I was playing in the street and my father told me: 'Why don't
you train at the club when I go to work?'. I said yes, why not?
So I started to play," Ronaldo told Herbalife.
"I went to train every day and I enjoyed being part of the
team. My father was always there for me.
"At first I felt I was different to the other children. I never
thought I was going to become a professional or go to
Manchester United, Real Madrid or Sporting.
"At that time I just wanted to enjoy it and it wasn't going
through my head that I had talent. At first I didn't think that."
However, the former Old Trafford ace admits it took just a
few short years of training before he began to visualise a
career at the very top.
"After three or four years I started to think: 'I want to play
there'. I got to watch all of the matches and I dreamed of
wearing the shirts."
Ronaldo and Madrid face Tottenham in their latest pre-
season outing in the Audi Cup in Munich on Tuesday.