Cristiano Ronaldo credits Sir Alex Ferguson as the key to his return to Man Utd

Cristiano Ronaldo has hailed the influence of Sir Alex Ferguson in his return to Manchester United - 12 years after leaving the club.

Ronaldo is back at United after leaving Juventus and speaking about the role of Ferguson, the Portuguese detailed his importance.

'As everybody knows, since I signed for Manchester [United] at 18, Sir Alex Ferguson was the key,' he said in his first interview since being a Red Devil again.

'I remember when we played against Manchester when I was at Sporting Lisbon. For me, Sir Alex Ferguson is like a father in football for me.

'He helped me a lot, he taught me many things, and in my opinion of course he had a big role because the relationship that we had, we keep in touch all the time, and he's an unbelievable person. I really like him a lot and he was the main key for me to be in the position that I am, that I signed for Manchester United.'