Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards recalled what it was like to play against Cristiano Ronaldo during the Portuguese first stint with the Old-Trafford-based club. Ronaldo is well known for his insane dribbling skills and he is as fast as a cheetah on the pitch.

Manchester United won three times against the Cityzens during that stage, with Ronaldo scoring twice and providing one assist. Richards revealed he was in awe of Ronaldo and it was a surreal experience to play against the talisman when he was at the top of prowess.

“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.

Ronaldo is regarded as one of the best forwards of all time and recently scored the 850th goal of his career.

“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.”

Manchester United won the Premier League in 2008, with Ronaldo scoring a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the season.