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Former Manchester United midfielder Gordon Strachan has given a ruthless assessment of Antony when comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Strachan told casinosite.nl that Antony, 23, reminded him of Ronaldo when he first joined the Red Devils. However, the comparison comes from the Portuguese icon's footwork trickery before becoming more of a team player. The Scot said:
“He kind of reminds me of Ronaldo, although it’s never nice to throw another name in the mix. He seems to think he is, but I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good as Ronaldo. There’s too much work on the ball."
Strachan continued by alluding to the early stages of Ronaldo's first spell at Manchester United. The iconic forward joined Sir Alex Ferguson's side in 2003 aged 18:
"When Ronaldo first got there, at that point, you had people in the team who would tell Ronaldo the truth and say ‘excuse me, we don’t want you dancing about when you can cross it in earlier! Use your ability to get in good areas and produce something. We’re not here to see you.’"
The Scot added that Ronaldo listened to his peers, like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. Their advice allowed him to become one of the best players in the club's history. He scored 145 goals and provided 64 assists during two spells with the club. The Portuguese great won his first Ballon d'Or award in 2008:
“I think at that point Ronaldo took on board what Sir Alex was saying, what Roy Keane and Paul Scholes was saying. He understood what they wanted from him, and he became this once-in-a-lifetime player, well apart from Messi, of course, this unbelievable player."
Strachan added that Antony needs to ask himself whether he's performing for the benefit of the team:
"I don’t think Antony can get anywhere near where Ronaldo reached, but I think he’s got to ask himself; ‘am I doing this for myself or am I doing it for the team?’"
Antony joined Manchester United last summer from Ajax for £85.5 million. He has endured a mixed start to his Red Devils career. The Brazilian has scored eight goals and provided two assists in 36 games across competitions but has been lambasted for his showboating and inconsistency.
Antony explained how Cristiano Ronaldo helped him settle at Manchester United
Antony arrived at Manchester United when Cristiano Ronaldo was still part of the team. Ronaldo spent two months with the Brazilian and played a part in his acclimatisation to life at Old Trafford.
The former Ajax attacker touched on that in an interview with A Bola last October. He alluded to Ronaldo's experience and how beneficial playing alongside him was:
"Since I arrived, Cristiano Ronaldo has helped me a lot to feel at ease. He talks to me a lot, even on game days. He always tells me to be calm and confident. He has achieved a lot in football, and I learn from him every day. I am very grateful to have such an experienced person by my side helping young people every day."
Ronaldo left Manchester United in November after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract and joined Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
