Luiz Felipe Scolari has cast doubt over whether Cristiano Ronaldo is the most talent player he's worked with.
The Brazilian led the Portugal national side for five years.
He guided them to the final of Euro 2004 and the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2006 - just before Ronaldo was about to ignite into one of the world's greatest players.
Earlier in his career Scolari led his homeland to World Cup glory in 2002, working with the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo.
The current Manchester United star has long been hailed for his drive to improve, which has resulted in five Ballon d'Or awards, but his previous boss stopped short of declaring him the most talented.
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"He is the most dedicated of them all. The most talented, he might not be," Scolari told the Daily Mail when quizzed on players he's worked with.
"Talent is not one of the first virtues when we think of Ronaldo, but dedication is what makes him who he is. It is the first virtue when I think of him.
On the international stage Ronaldo helped Portugal lift Euro 2016 - their first tournament triumph.
He also broke the international goalscoring record late last year with his total now standing at 115.
Scolari declared Ronaldo a "goal machine" and paid tribute to the work done by Sir Alex Ferguson and his coaches at Old Trafford.
The now 37-year-old arrived in Manchester as a teenager back in 2003, but his talent was very raw.
He was eventually honed into a class act, winning his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 after helping United win the Champions League.
Scolari added: "He is a goal machine. He is a fantastic guy. I saw him at Sporting in 2003 with great desire and power.
"He even has more desire today than he had at the beginning of his career. He is a great person.
"Sometimes we don’t see how good a person he is outside of the field. He is very dedicated. He prepared himself to be an athlete.
"We didn’t participate actively in building him to be like this, but Ferguson and his youth coaches were responsible for evolving Cristiano into who he is.
"It makes me very happy to see him do it at the highest level until this day."
Ronaldo has evolved as his career has gone on, morphing from a winger to a central striker, which is the position he has occupied for several years now.
His goal tallies have only been matched by rival Lionel Messi for well over a decade.
