Ronaldo’s star on the rise, says O’Shea

JOHN O’SHEA jokes that his woeful attempts to stop Cristiano Ronaldo in a pre-season friendly helped secure the brilliant Portuguese winger his £12million move to Manchester United.

But the Waterford star is being deadly serious when he predicts his teenage team-mate is going to be a star. Just like O’Shea did 12 months ago, Ronaldo has burst onto the Premiership scene in startling fashion this season. Condemned by some as nothing more than a one-trick pony, the former Sporting Lisbon flyer’s magic is still proving too tough for even the most experienced defenders to handle and a succession of recent man-of-the-match awards suggest a starring role in tomorrow’s FA Cup final.

O’Shea got an early glimpse of Ronaldo’s talent when he tried to mark him during United’s friendly defeat in the Portuguese capital last August. So impressive was the youngster that senior members of the Old Trafford squad begged Alex Ferguson to sign him up. Tomorrow in Cardiff, Millwall may have cause to regret the United boss took heed.