Gary Neville offers rare insight into what an 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo was actually like at Man United

Gary Neville has offered insight into what a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo was like at Manchester United after addressing his feud with Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo is facing a potential ban of up to six months after going against the Portuguese Football Federation for leaving the national team's camp without justification.

The legendary forward's abrupt exit was sparked by Portugal's 2-1 victory over Norway in the Nations League, when the 41-year-old was an unused substitute.

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Gary Neville says what a young Cristiano Ronaldo was like at Man United

Ronaldo's ego took a huge dent after being left on the bench during that match, and he posted a statement on social media days after, telling fans that he would soon reveal "the reasons" for his departure.

That bombshell post was dropped on Tuesday (October 6), and the Al-Nassr forward has received huge backlash for undermining his manager, especially after he "validated" eight notes for Jesus to say in his press conference.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is potentially undoing his legacy as Portugal's greatest ever player, and when discussing the incident on the first episode of the Overlap Daily, former Man United teammate Gary Neville also offered insight into what he was like in the early days of his career.

Ronaldo famously joined United from Sporting Lisbon for around £12million as an 18-year-old in 2003, and there, he became arguably the best player on the planet before moving to Real Madrid for £80million six years later.

When he arrived at Old Trafford, he was incredibly raw, often frustrating Sir Alex Ferguson with his attempts to open his box of tricks against opposing defenders instead of keeping it simple.

Neville described him as "imperfect" for the first couple of years before he began to produce "incredible" numbers, notably scoring 42 goals in the 2007/08 campaign as United won the Premier League and Champions League.

“I find it difficult because I remember the 18-year-old kid who came to United, and for two or three years he was imperfect, to say the least," Neville admitted.

"His numbers are absolutely incredible, but the patience and the tolerance that was demonstrated to him by senior players when we were younger was incredible."

Unfortunately, the patience shown towards Ronaldo by the senior players apparently wasn't reciprocated when he completed his fairytale return to the club from Juventus in 2021.

"I don't think that when he was at United the second time, he repaid the young players," the 51-year-old continued. "I don't think he treated the young players like that, and I found that difficult.”

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What Sir Alex Ferguson said about Cristiano Ronaldo in his latest interview

Ferguson deserves immense credit for giving Ronaldo the platform to become the best player in the world once he left United to join Real Madrid.

The Scot gave him the positional freedom to express himself, while forming a deadly partnership with Wayne Rooney, who himself became one of the Premier League's deadliest forwards.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Ferguson described the pair as "the best in Europe" during their period playing together, citing the club's incredible 2007/08 campaign.

"At that period, those two, I think, were the best in Europe, I really do. It was a fantastic period for us. We went on to win the European Cup in 2008 in Moscow," Ferguson said.

"[That a] wee squat guy from Liverpool, and a fresh young boy, six-foot-two kid from Portugal can combine like they did, was fantastic."

Ronaldo famously called Ferguson a "father in football", and there's no surprise after he scored 118 goals and supplied 68 assists in 292 appearances under his stewardship.