'I spent two weeks on trial at Man Utd - what Cristiano Ronaldo did completely shocked me'

At 16, Freddy Adu had the world at his feet. He had already been described as the second coming of Pele, having signed a professional contract two years earlier, which broke MLS records. Having already played for the United States national team, Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson took a close look at the wonderkid.

Adu hopped on a flight to join Sir Alex and some of the greatest players in the world. He spent two weeks with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes and still speaks fondly about the experience even though he was not signed by the soon-to-be Premier League champions.

"It changed my life," Adu told Express Sport via the best casino. "It changed my life, because as a 16-year-old, being a big name in America, and at that point, I was known around the world as well.

"But going into a place like Manchester United and just being surrounded by legends and the world-class players that were there was so humbling for me. It's like: 'Man, I've got a long way to go!'

"I tried to hide it, but I was star-struck, because these are the guys that I grew up watching all the time, and they were legends in my eyes. So I was starstruck. It was just a surreal experience for me. I remember the first few days, how nervous I was just being around them. I was nervous."

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What stood out most to Adu, now 36, was the actions of Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward would fire United to the title with 17 league goals that season, but made the effort to reach out to Adu even though he was not officially part of the team.

He explained: "You know what the great thing about it is, a lot of people always try to claim or think that Cristiano Ronaldo is an arrogant person. But I'll tell you this, when I was there, Cristiano Ronaldo was the one guy who made an absolute point to come up to me, calm me down, say to me: 'You know what, if you need anything, I'm here for you'.

"He offered to take me out to dinner if I ever wanted. What a great guy he was. It was an amazing experience and this day I love Cristiano Ronaldo because of that. People don't understand how nice of a person he really is."

Shortly after his spell in Manchester, Adu moved to Real Salt Lake before joining Benfica in 2007. His career did not pan out as expected, but such was his potential at the time that the legendary Sir Alex wanted to sign him. However, UK employment law blocked United from making an offer to the player until he turned 18.