The former Manchester United manager says the Real Madrid star is a perfect example of a hard worker, hailing his work ethic and talent

Sir Alex Ferguson believes he can take little credit for Cristiano Ronaldo's development into one of the finest footballers of all time.

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Ferguson brought a teenage Ronaldo from Sporting to Manchester United in 2003 and oversaw his development to Ballon d'Or winner in 2008 before a then world-record move to Real Madrid a year later.

The 74-year-old Scot made his share of records tumble during a trophy laden reign at Old Trafford which lasted 27 years and he feels Ronaldo stands a cut above other stellar names he oversaw during 26-and-a-half years at the helm.

"Ronaldo is a perfect example of someone who made himself. It's easy for me to say, 'yeah, I made Ronaldo'," Ferguson said when he was honoured with the Walther Bensemann prize, which is awarded for outstanding work in football.

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"Many coaches might say I made this player and I made that player, but Ronaldo made himself.

"We just gave him the tools and the platform to excel. His practice ethic was incredible. He was a fantastic player, he was the best.

"We had fantastic players in [Paul] Scholes, [Ryan] Giggs, and [Eric] Cantona. We had some fantastic footballers, but Ronaldo was just something else."