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.
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Simon Bellis/Manchester United via Getty Images)"He would come to me and just do five step-overs in two seconds. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was such a genius. I bought every five of them. I was twisted and tangled before you knew it. He never said anything, but he just used to wink at me all the time.
"He'd dribble past me, he used to love a Cruyff chop, go past me, go inside and just wink at me. I was swearing at myself, but wow, what a player. And to see him go from that to Real Madrid. Phenomenal."
Richards' first game against Ronaldo came in December 2006 when City travelled to Old Trafford for the first Manchester Derby of that season. Ronaldo laid on the assist for Wayne Rooney's opening goal before firing in one of his own with six minutes to go.
The City full-back missed the reverse fixture that season, which United also won, but was back in the team the following campaign. City completed the double over their fierce rivals, though Ronaldo missed the first game.
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KitbagBoth Richards and Ronaldo played all 90 minutes of the reverse fixture, with the United star firing a blank in a 2-1 defeat. He was back on top in November 2008, though was sent off for a second bookable offence during his side's win.
Their final meeting came in May 2009, Ronaldo's penultimate match at Old Trafford before he joined Madrid. The Portugal star came out on top in that game, firing in a free-kick to open the scoring for United in a 2-0 win.
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