Cristiano Ronaldo ‘blew my mind’ – Freddy Adu reflects on superstar’s behaviour at Manchester United trial

Freddy Adu says Cristiano Ronaldo “blew his mind” for how nice he was during the American’s trial at Manchester United back in 2006.

Adu, one of the most talked-about wonderkids of his generation, was invited to United by Sir Alex Ferguson, and spent time training with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick as the club assessed his talent.

Also there at that time was a young Ronaldo, who surprised Adu by how open he had been to the then 16-year-old Adu.

Speaking to Offers.Bet, Adu said: “One day after a session, I was getting ready to go back to my place when Ronaldo pulled up in his car next to me and was just really, really nice and said ‘Hey man! If you need anything let me know!’

“He offered to take me out to dinner, to show me around; just so that I knew I wasn’t alone over there – that blew my mind! I had no idea that Cristiano was such a nice person and I became an instant Ronaldo fan in that moment – he couldn’t have been any nicer.

“At that point I said that this is the person I want to be, and how I want to carry myself, because other people were looking at me the way I was looking at Cristiano – you just have to be nice to people, no matter what.

“So that, for me, was an incredible moment.”

Adu, now without a club but still contemplating a playing future in the game, says that from the current landscape, a certain English midfielder is his ‘favourite wonderkid’.

“Right now I would have to say Jude Bellingham,” Adu said. “The reason for saying Bellingham is that for someone at the age of 19, the way he plays and the impact he is having, he’s playing like someone with 10 years more experience in the game – and that is very rare to see.

“And he’s doing it for a big team in Germany. If you look past the slightly older Mbappé and Haaland, you’d have to say Bellingham. He’s a midfielder that makes a massive difference.

“He should be linked with the big teams in England, because he deserves to be linked with those teams.

“I don’t think he’s going to stay at Dortmund for very long. I think someone is going to sign him for big, big money.”

Thanks to his own background, Adu is well-placed to offer a view on Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, who made his Premier League debut last month at the age of just 15, and offered the youngster some sage guidance.

He said: “I think Ethan is extremely impressive, especially given the league that he’s making that debut in – the Premier League, which is the best league in the world. To get your debut at 15 and for a big team at that, in that league; that’s pretty impressive.

“There are a lot of distractions when you’re at that age, and Ethan is doing something that is not very common. It’s very unique and he’s going to get a lot of attention with a lot of people talking about him, which can bring a lot of fame – and you have to be able to handle that. It’s harder said than done, especially at that age.

“He’s just got to keep working hard, because it’s hard work that got him there in the first place, and you can never rest on your laurels. You can never take anything for granted.”

– – –