When a precocious, teenage Cristiano Ronaldo ran rings around Manchester United in the summer of 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson was left in no doubt about what had to come next.
The legendary Scottish manager infamously told the club’s kit man, Albert Morgan to ‘get up to that directors’ box and get Peter Kenyon down at half-time’. After chatting with the former chief executive, it was made clear that United were not leaving the Jose Alvalade Stadium without his signature confirmed.
John O’Shea was the defender tasked with trying to stop the young Sporting star on that history-defining afternoon. And he looks back on it favourably, even if anecdotes of oxygen masks and migraines have been exaggerated over time.
“I'll always remember the look he gave me before the start of the game. It was about to kick off and he stared me right in the face as if to say, 'I'm ready for this audition',” he told Mail Sport. “When he performed as he did on the night, it was a done deal for everybody.
“You could see how comfortable he was to go with either his left or right foot. He was strong in the air even at that age, and he had the confidence to try the same trick again.
“It's amazing how many memories have been exaggerated over time - in a good way. There's been a bit of artistic licence. I can clarify that it was the same as any half-time break, there was no oxygen tank needed for me!”
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Ferguson returned to his assembled players with a huge smile on his face, knowing he’d stolen a step on the rest of world football by landing a player who would become one of the greatest of all time. But the tired and jetlagged Red Devils squad weren’t quite as convinced, despite the Sporting prodigy ripping them to shreds.
“Did we all think he’d go on and achieve what he did in terms of the goals, the assists. Ronaldo went on to do that and a lot more?” Former United skipper Roy Keane told Sky Sports. “Did we all say in the dressing room at 17 that that was where he was going to go? No.
“I thought he was very lucky he was up against John O’Shea. We were jet-lagged, we had just got back from America pre-season, but Ronaldo was excellent.”
But for all of the doubts, a simple message from Ronaldo helped convince the combative Irishman that for all of the showmanship, tricks and flicks, there was a burning desire to make him succeed at Old Trafford.
“The message he sent, because the deal was done, they gave him the option to stay on loan at Lisbon and what I liked about him straight away, he said, ‘no I want to go to Manchester United straight away and have an impact’.
“He had to learn in terms of end product and he was going down very easily, which he can still do. But he;s not perfect. We all took to him. We all liked him. We thought, this kid loves the game, he wants to get better. He’s been amazing.”
