Cristiano Ronaldo says he discovered he belonged to a world of stars upon comparing himself to the rest of Manchester United s strong squad in 2003.
The future Real Madrid and Juventus forward rose to a prominence after moving to Old Trafford from Sporting CP as a skinny teenager.
Then a flashy winger, Ronaldo scored four goals from 29 appearances in his debut Premier League campaign.
Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy were among United s most prominent players at the time and Ronaldo quickly gained belief he too was destined to reach the top of the game.
When I started playing for Manchester United at 18, 19, because I was as good as the players who were there I realised I m close to achieving great things , Ronaldo told Portuguese broadcaster TVI.
Of course, I was a kid and I had a lot to learn – and I learned a lot from them – but I was in that world of stars.
I saw that they were not doing anything that I couldn t do.
There were better players than me: Giggs had more experience and was a better player than me at the time, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer but I felt that if I worked, with the talent I had, I could be the best player in the Premier League, for example.
. has been scoring worldies since way back!
How about this strike v Spurs in 2004!?
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
Ronaldo spent six seasons at United, winning a first Ballon d Or the before a €94million (£80m) transfer to Madrid in 2009.
The Portugal captain has since scooped European football s foremost individual honour a further four times.
Barcelona superstar and long-time rival Lionel Messi is the only other player to have claimed the Ballon d Or on five occasions.
I know that I am one of the best in my work and that I am in the history of football, Ronaldo said.
It is no coincidence that only Messi and I have five. It is no accident. And I still feel motivated to try to win collective and individual prizes.
Ronaldo and Juventus commence their Serie A campaign away to Parma on Saturday.
