Cristiano Ronaldo developed into a superstar during his first spell at Manchester United and took no mercy on the defenders he faced in the Premier League before his move to Real Madrid

Micah Richards has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo used to wink at him whenever the former Manchester United star dribbled past him.

Richards played against Ronaldo four times during his early career at Manchester City, before the superstar moved to Real Madrid. Ronaldo won three of their encounters, scoring twice and notching one assist during those clashes, all of which came in the Premier League.

The Portugal captain is famous for his terrifying dribbling and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of the sport. And Richards has now opened up on his struggles to keep Ronaldo quiet during the times that they faced each other.

He also revealed that rather than say anything, Ronaldo would turn around and wink at the full-back as he dribbled past him. While Richards would be left “swearing to himself”, the former City star was still in awe of his opponent.

“We’ve always said that Messi’s better. It’s just effortless the way he moves around the pitch. But when I played against Ronaldo when he was at Man Utd – wow! I mean, I couldn’t switch off for a second. And this was in a derby,” Richards told The Rest Is Football podcast.

“When we’re walking up the tunnel at Old Trafford, I was only young at the time, but I was looking to my left and thinking ‘oh my god, it’s Ronaldo’. I’m in awe of the guy. It was early times when he wasn’t just playing on the right wing, he was playing on the left as well.