Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed former Sporting CP youth coach Aurelio Pereira, who discovered him many years ago.
Ronaldo said Pereira made him extremely happy during their time together at Sporting.
The Al Nassr captain said this after Pereira was recently honoured by the Portugal Football Federation at a Portuguese award gala for his service.
The former Manchester United forward joined Sporting CP’s youth setup from Nacional Youth in 1997.
Ronaldo was coached by Pereira during his academy days.
Pereira was the coach who discovered Ronaldo’s talent, as he also did with other legends like Luis Figo and Quaresma.
“I am very happy that Mr. Aurélio received this honour. It is well deserved. As you know, it was very important in our training, not only for me but for many of my teammates. As everyone knows, Mr Aurélio has a different eye from everyone else, and he always had an aptitude for seeing the stars and helping,” Ronaldo said (via Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias).
“He makes me extremely happy. I know he’s in excellent shape. He’s already better and I hope he can last for many, many years. It’s a pleasure for me to send him this message. I hope you can enjoy this evening. A big hug, friend.”
‘He makes me extremely happy’ – Ronaldo hails ex-coach who discovered him
