Last week, Cristiano Ronaldo invited former teammate Rio Ferdinand to his home in Madrid to discuss Ronaldo’s career since moving to Madrid and the significance of the latest CR7-badged Nike Mercurial release, The Chapter 5: Cut to Brilliance boots. 

In the film, Ferdinand shares his thoughts on Ronaldo, relaying his early memories of the player and the factors that led to his meteoric rise.

"When Cristiano arrived in Manchester, he was quite shy," Ferdinand says. "He was very young, just 18, but the moment I saw him play, I knew he was different.

"His unquestionable talent was there for all to see. Based on his pure skill, all the players knew he had the potential to become the best in the world.

"But we had to ask, “Has he got the mentality?”. Quite quickly we realized that yes, Cristiano did have the mentality.

"He was brave, and by brave I mean he always wanted the ball. When kicked, he always got up. He never moaned.”