Liverpool cult hero Peter Crouch raises eyebrows with Cristiano Ronaldo claim

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Cristiano Ronaldo may be in the final stages of his career, but he remains a regular starter and goalscorer for Portugal, more than two decades since making his international debut. Former Liverpool forward Peter Crouch faced Ronaldo on nine occasions at club level, securing victory just once - when Crouch netted the decisive goal for the Reds against Ronaldo's Manchester United in a 2006 FA Cup encounter.

By that point, observers understood what to anticipate, but circumstances were rather different when Ronaldo was mere months away from his Premier League switch to Manchester United in 2003. Cristiano Ronaldo remains a superstar (Image: Getty Images) "It's an absolute privilege to have played against [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, [Lionel] Messi, Ronaldo.

"I played against Cristiano Ronaldo when he was kind of unknown, with the England Under-21s against Portugal Under-21s. I remember Quaresma played a 60, 70 yard pass, Ronaldo was controlling it on his back and then just going at the full-back, and I thought, 'Who's this guy?'" While Ronaldo boasts over 200 Portugal appearances and continues adding to that tally, Quaresma's journey took a rather different path.