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Manchester United legend Wes Brown spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda in a wide-ranging interview as the 43-year-old had his say on Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi's legacy after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the Red Devils' development under Erik ten Hag.
The tough-tackling defender made 362 appearances for Manchester United since making his debut for the club in 1996 and won 11 major honors, after which he moved to Sunderland in 2011. After leaving the Tyneside club in 2016, Brown hung up his boots in 2018 after brief spells with Blackburn Rovers and Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
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There's a famous story involving Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon. The date was August 6, 2003, and the Red Devils were scheduled to play a friendly against the Portuguese outfit. Seventeen-year-old Ronaldo wasn't aware of it at the time, but his life was about to change.
He turned the Manchester United defenders inside out and propelled his side to a 3-1 win, after which reports emerged that the Red Devils players were so mesmerized by his talents that they urged Sir Alex Ferguson to snap him up immediately. The rest, as they say, is history, as Ronaldo joined Manchester United a week later for a fee believed to be in the region of £12 million, making him the most expensive teenager in the history of English football at the time.
Brown, who was part of the Manchester United squad at the time, confirmed exclusively to Sportskeeda that he and his teammates urged the gaffer to snap up the exciting winger.
"The story is true! Cristiano Ronaldo gave Gary Neville a hard time during the game, and the rest of the players obviously took notice of his talents. Obviously, it's a huge jump for someone so young to join a Premier League club from Portugal, but Sir Alex Ferguson was incredible in terms of his talent spotting, so he decided to snap him up."
When asked to name the most talented player he shared the dressing room with for club and country, Brown named Manchester United great Paul Scholes, while Wayne Rooney also received a mention. As for his toughest opponent, former France captain Zinedine Zidane got Brown's vote.
"Paul Scholes - I saw him from close quarters and the things he did with the ball were unreal. Wayne Rooney as well - people usually tend to overlook him, but he's easily one of the most talented players I've played with for club and country."
"Zinedine Zidane was just incredible. Some of the senior players I played with also shared the same opinion that he was just a world-class player."
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"Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo shouldn't be compared" - Manchester United legend Wes Brown
Lionel Messi has been the talk of the town in recent weeks, with the Argentine captain finally getting his hands on football's biggest prize by winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Having played with Cristiano Ronaldo and against Lionel Messi in his trophy-laden career, Brown suggested that the two legendary attackers should not be compared.
"Messi obviously has a claim to be referred to as the greatest footballer of all time after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina. You could argue that he was in with a shout even before his World Cup triumph, but winning it obviously strengthens his claim."
"I've also said for the longest time that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two players who shouldn't be compared. No player over the past 15 years has done what these two have consistently. You'd see a player pop up for a season or two, but that wasn't the case with Messi and Ronaldo. Many years from now, if Messi is remembered as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldo will be part of that conversation."
"I played against Lionel Messi and kept a clean sheet once - that's something I remember to this day!"
When asked about Erik ten Hag's tenure at Manchester United so far, Brown pointed out that the Red Devils' transfer business under the Dutchman has been top-class so far, while he also singled out Marcus Rashford for special praise for his rich vein of form this season.
"Getting people in is obviously very important but what the manager has done is he's got Manchester United playing very well - after the first two games at least!
"Casemiro and Christian Eriksen have been absolutely exceptional. Casemiro took a few games to find his feet, but over the last ten games, people can see his standards and how well he gets around the pitch.
"Erik ten Hag has got everyone working hard, and that's down to his hard work and the respect he demands from everyone at Manchester United. It's also really important that Marcus Rashford is feeling good - he's returned to his best under the new manager and is scoring goals regularly again."
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