Former Sporting Lisbon teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has disclosed that the Manchester United star bought a Mercedes as a youngster before learning to drive.
Ronaldo began his career with Sporting Lisbon in his native Portugal before going on to become one of the most sought-after players in the world.
He became friends with on-loan Belarusian sensation Vitali Kutuzov, who had arrived from AC Milan in 2002-2003, during his first and only full season with the club.
The former striker stated that he and Ronaldo used to share a room and recalled a moment when the future United, Real Madrid, and Juventus star bought a brand new sparkling automobile before he was even legally allowed to drive at the age of 17.
In an interview with Italian writer Gianluca Di Marzio, Kutuzov remarked, “We were in the squad together for only one year, but it was often him and I.” ‘We also shared a room on several occasions.’ I recall him getting his first automobile, a Mercedes that he had no idea how to drive. But the joy he had when he arrived at the field in a car he had purchased was amazing.’
The five-time Ballon D’Or winner is said to have a £17 million automobile collection, which includes a spanking new Bentley Flying Spur, which he was seen driving into United’s Carrington training base. It is estimated to be worth roughly £164,000.
Three Ferraris, two Lamborghinis, two Burgattis, two McLarens, two Rolls-Royces, a Porsche 911 Turbo, and numerous Audi and Mercedes-AMGs are among Ronaldo’s supercars.
During their time together, Kutuzov said he told Ronaldo about his experiences rubbing elbows with some of the best players in the world at AC Milan, and that the latter was interested in hearing about his time at the San Siro.
‘We were two kids in a champions’ squad that had won everything,’ he continued.
‘He was 17 at the time, and I was 21. The objective was to demonstrate myself. He inquired about Milan and what it was like to work with such talented players.’
Kutuzov, now 42 and retired, spent the majority of his career with Sampdoria, Parma, and Bari in Italy.
After starting his career as a’more of a dribbler,’ he observed how ‘eager’ he was to score goals and stated he could now see a metamorphosis into a ‘complete’ player.
‘He was hungry to finish off [chances],’ he continued, ‘although now he is a different player [today].’ ‘He was more of a dribbler at the time.’ He is now complete and helps in every manner possible.’
Ronaldo would later return to United in 2003-2004, scoring 118 goals in 292 games, winning the Champions League in 2008 and the Premier League three times before joining Real Madrid for £80 million.
Before transferring to Juventus, he won four Champions League titles and two LaLiga titles at the Bernabeu, scoring 450 goals in 438 games.
He scored 101 goals in Italy, earning two Serie A titles and the Copa Del Rey before returning to United in a fairytale comeback last summer.