English football coach and former player Ashley Cole has picked Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo as the toughest opponent he faced during his career after being inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame.
Goal.com reported that the Premier League Monday made the announcement of inducting Cole, a former player of Arsenal and Chelsea, into the 2024 Premier League Hall of Fame.
Describing Ronaldo, Cole said the Al-Nassr forward is a “complete footballer”.
He also recalled that the former ManU player was quick in adjusting to English top-tier football after coming from Sporting CP.
The former player also said he remembers that Ronaldo gave him “nightmares on the pitch”.
“Over the years, Cristiano Ronaldo and I had some mighty battles and we have a mutual respect for each other,” Cole said.
“He came to the Premier League as a little bit of an unknown, but he soon understood what it took to be a top player. He was willing to learn and adapt. He wanted to be the best player in the world and became a machine.”
“He had everything. He could dribble, he could sprint behind, he could leap and jump and head a ball, he could go inside, he could go outside,” he said.
“So I say he always gave me nightmares, but you try to work each other out and we got the best of each other at times. Whenever I hear his name or see his face, I always think of when he made me do the splits! [in 2003/04, Ronaldo’s first Premier League season].”
