Cristiano Ronaldo: Ex Wigan Star Recalls How Portugal Star Embarrassed Him in Front of His Family

• Former West Ham United midfielder Jimmy Bullard recently gave a hilarious account on facing Cristiano Ronaldo
• Bullard was a victim of one of Ronaldo’s cheeky skills when the Portugal star was still at Manchester United
• Before turning into a goal machine, Ronaldo was known for his dribbling skills and extraordinary agility as a winger

Former West Ham and Wigan Athletic midfielder Jimmy Bullard had a hilarious account about his experience when he clashed with Cristiano Ronaldo on the football pitch.

Bullard is not particularly known for his footballing career despite having played for clubs including Fulham, Hull City, Ipswich Town, and Milton Keynes Dons.

The 45-year-old retired from football in 2012 and had a brief stint as a manager, taking up a role with Isthmian League Premier Division side Leatherhead.

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Away from the pitch, the England international is a humble figure, and this is evident from the way he speaks about his former rivals.

Bullard’s story about Cristiano Ronaldo

The retired midfielder recently opened up on what it was like to face a young Ronaldo when the Portuguese superstar was coming up in the Premier League.

In an episode of FC Bullard with Jimmy Bullard, the former midfielder recalled coming up against the Portuguese superstar as a Wigan Athletic player.

At the time, Ronaldo had garnered hype in the Premier League, a few years after signing for Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon. Many fans and pundits had already tipped him as a player who could rise to the pinnacle of football.

Bullard recalls wanting to tackle the young winger and send him to the stands to impress his family, but failed specularly thanks to Ronaldo’s agility and skill.

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“He (Ronaldo) stops the ball on the line and I’m running behind him thinking ‘this would be great to put Ronaldo in the stands’,” Bullard said on the podcast. “It was a great opportunity to leave your mark on someone although I didn’t usually play like that.”

“I’m running up behind him, he sprints towards the byline, puts his foot on the ball. There has to be momentum on the ball, but there wasn’t. You know roadrunner? He just stopped. I do not know how he stopped like that to this day. You can’t do that. It’s like being an alien.”

Clips of how Ronaldo turned Bullard inside have dominated the internet, and that particular incident is often referenced on YouTube when one searches for a compilation of Ronaldo’s best skills.

Jimmy Bullard’s famous goal celebration

Bullard is not just known for being humiliated by Ronaldo.

He is also the owner of one of the most unique goal celebrations in history.

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In the 2008/09 season, Hull City boss, Phil Brown, decided to give his team a public telling-off at half-time as he sat them on the pitch for going 4-0 down against Manchester City.

The following season, Hull City played Manchester City and found an equaliser, scored by Jimmy Bullard, who imitated his manager’s antics from the previous campaign.

When Ronaldo nearly scored Puskas-worthy goal

Sports Brief also reported on Cristiano Ronaldo’s bicycle kick, which unfortunately hit the post.

This occurred on March 31, when Al-Nassr lost the Saudi King’s Cup final to Al-Hilal via penalties.

In the 46th minute, with Al-Nassr trailing, the former Real Madrid superstar got to the end of a delightful cross to adjust his body and hit a menacing bicycle kick that beat the goalkeeper but unfortunately struck the post.