“He was always aware that I was there” - Ex-Manchester United defender on playing ‘better’ against Cristiano Ronaldo in Premier League

Former Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley has revealed that he played better against Cristiano Ronaldo when they came up against each other in the Premier League. The Scotsman reckoned that squaring it up with elite superstars including the Portuguese icon helped raise his level of performance as he felt he always had something to prove.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Phil Bardsley were teammates at Manchester United in the 2000s. The right-back's loan stints at clubs like Sheffield United, Aston Villa, Burnley and eventual permanent transfer to Sunderland enabled them to come up against each other in the Premier League and produce some interesting battles.

When asked if he ever felt he got the better of the Portuguese, Bardsley told talkSPORT:

“Probably not but he was always aware that I was there and I was playing against him."

“I always believed I played better against the better players. I’m not saying we won those games but I always felt against better players that I had something to prove."

The Scotsman further stated that the determination to avoid being embarrassed fuels defenders to bring out their best when coming up against elite players like Cristiano Ronaldo. He cited the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's battles with former Chelsea star Ashley Cole to drive home his point.

“You didn’t want to be embarrassed," he continued. "You used to see the battles between Ronaldo and Ashley Cole. Back and forth, neither of them were giving in."

“As a player you want to go out there and do your best,” Bardsley added.

It was a great pleasure to see the two players give us some interesting battles in the Premier League. On most occasions however, the Portuguese came out on top as the Red Devils were a huge force to be reckoned with at the time.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United career in numbers

Cristiano Ronaldo had two spells at Manchester United: the first one came between August 2003 and July 2009 while the second one was between August 2021 and November 2022.

The Portuguese icon's first spell was more successful by a distance. During the six-year period, he won multiple honors, including the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup to mention just a few. He also won the first of his five Ballon d'Or awards at the club.

His second stint, however, didn't follow the same path as he left unceremoniously amid controversy after playing for just one-and-a-half season and no trophies. Overall, the 39-year-old bagged 145 goals and 64 assists in 346 games across the two spells.