Cristiano Ronaldo's brilliant reaction to being bullied as a youngster

Cristiano Ronaldo's rise to stardom is one of the biggest rags to riches tales in the modern era. The youngster, who was born to Dolores Aveiro and Jose Dinis Aveiro in the Portuguese island of Madeira, did not enjoy the best childhood.

While his mother was a cook, his dad was a gardener, and it is he who introduced Cristiano Ronaldo to football as a young boy. The island of Madeira was one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Portugal at the time, but Ronaldo found solace in football as he joined Andorinha's youth team due to the influence of his father.

Speaking to Mirror Football, Fernao Barros Sousa, who was a player for Andorinha at the time, revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo was a special talent but remained grounded despite his outrageous ability.

Cristiano Ronaldo's formative years

Cristiano Ronaldo skips past Wayne Rooney, who would later go on to become his teammate

Sousa revealed that Ronaldo had something different from the other kids at the academy, as he put studies in the back seat to concentrate on becoming a professional footballer.

"You could see it when his father was kitman with Andorinha. He had the bags with the footballs and Cristiano would be with his father, with a ball in hand and playing with the ball."

"He tried to dribble and obviously he copied the older players. He did that a lot. What I remember about him is that he was a humble kid. And when he didn’t have the ball, he cried. When the team-mates fought, he cried."

Ronaldo rose through the ranks rapidly and signed for Sporting CP as a 12-year-old in 1997 before Manchester United came calling for him in 2003. However, he was reportedly bullied by his teammates at Sporting, to which he famous reply has gone down in the history books.

"One day I'll be the best player in the world and I'll have loads of Ferraris!"

In the years that followed, Cristiano Ronaldo's rise to the top was nothing short of phenomenal, as the Portuguese superstar burst onto the scene with Manchester United.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or a staggering five times.

With three Premier League titles and UEFA Champions League crown to his name, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 in a world-record deal at the time, as he went on to cement his status as an all-time great at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In the summer of 2018, Ronaldo made it clear that he wanted a new challenge and secured a move to Juventus in the Serie A, where he continues to bang in the goals at the age of 35.

With a staggering five Ballon d'Or awards to his name and numerous other accolades for club and country, Cristiano Ronaldo has more than just vindicated his doubters and shut his bullies up in some style. Talk about being a man of your words, eh?