I was watching a Rio Ferdinand podcast, it was the beginning of a new season, I think 2005/2006
The players got to training and were surprised by Ronaldo's build
They kept asking themselves , have you seen Ronaldo's new build
Man was ready for the new phase of his career
The skinny boy that was bought in 2003 has used three years to put his body into shape and ready to take the world by storm
The Premier League saw a glimpse of it in the 2005/2006 season but at the FIFA World Cup, it was evident Ronaldo was ready
He was on course to win the World Cup Young Player of the tournament before the British media outraged against him and he lost the award
The British media were hurt because of Ronaldo's wink at the Portuguese bench when Wayne Rooney was sent off in the quarter final
And FIFA followed the media and decided to pick Germany's Lukas Podoski as the winner
After the World Cup, Ronaldo wanted to leave Manchester United but Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to stay back
Then, the 2006/2007 started and the world saw a different Cristiano Ronaldo entirely
From terrorizing defenders, to scoring goals and deciding games, CR7 became the complete package that every team feared till date
Despite being booed all through the season at away games, it didn't stop him from punishing teams
The 2006/2007 season saw Ronaldo became the first player to win all individual awards in the Premier League
β’ The PFA Player of the Year
β’ The PFA Young Player of the Year
β’ The Premier League Player of the Year
β’ The Football Writers Player of the Year
β’ The PFA Fans Player of the Year
That was the birth of the Cristiano 'Mentality Monster' Ronaldo