Laszlo Boloni: Meet the coach who spotted Cristiano Ronaldo

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Madrid, October 24: Laszlo Boloni launched the career of Cristiano Ronaldo at Sporting CP in 2002 as the Portuguese side went on to secure the league title.

The Romanian coach said the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will end his career at Santiago Bernabeu.

"I hope Ronaldo never decides towards the end of his career to drop back down to a level he hasn't played at for a very, very long time - a level which could only cause him harm," said the Royal Antwerp coach as reported by Marca.

"I think he should, and will, finish his career at Real Madrid."

The Portuguese winger was involved in training with Sporting's first team as a 16-year-old and Boloni clearly saw something special in him, but it was essential for the Romanian to protect Ronaldo.

"I moved him out to the wing [from playing as a striker] because coming up against two 90kg centre-backs would have been a little too much for a boy of 16 or 17," he said.

"Plus he was better able to exploit his qualities out wide, without losing his effectiveness.

"To my huge satisfaction, Sir Alex Ferguson did the same thing when Cristiano joined Manchester United.

"Today, he's free to go where he wants, but at the time I felt that changing his position was the best thing to do

"As he was too young, and the rules prevented him from playing with the first team, we organised a special bodybuilding and fast-twitch-muscle programme to help him stay strong in duels and - to borrow a phrase from Aime Jacquet - 'beef up his game'."

Despite initially giving Ronaldo his chance to shine, Boloni does not expect any recognition from the 32-year-old, while he also goes on to praise the brilliance of Lionel Messi.

"My heart naturally leans towards Ronaldo [in the Messi vs Ronaldo debate], but I have the greatest respect for Messi," he said.