Ferguson reserves high praise for Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United manager was all praise for Cristiano Ronaldo, in his autobiography published on Tuesday, stating that the Real Madrid super star surpassed all other great players he’d coached.

While Ferguson says Rooney "has a gift for producing great moments" his highest praise is reserved for Cristiano Ronaldo, the man bought to replace Beckham and who he said gave him a "surge of excitement" when he first saw him play in Lisbon.

"Cristiano was the most gifted player I managed," wrote Ferguson. "He surpassed all the other great ones I coached at United -- and I had many.

"We lost our wizard to Real Madrid in the end," added Ferguson, who resisted the Spanish club's bid to sign him in 2008.

"I know you want to go to Real Madrid (Ferguson told Ronaldo in 2008), but I would rather shoot you than sell you to that guy (Real president Ramon Calderon) now."

Ferguson also made known the regret and hurt of losing the Premier League title to Manchester City in the dying seconds of the 2011-12 season.

"Of all the setbacks I endured, nothing compared to losing the league to City," he said, although regaining it last year proved sweet revenge.

"My final thought on City was that they couldn't call on enough players who understood the significance of what they had achieved by winning the first title for 44 years."