‘I played with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd – Cole Palmer shares same special quality’

Gary Neville played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for six years at Manchester United, and the Red Devils legend has confessed that Cole Palmer shares a special quality with the Portuguese GOAT

Gary Neville says that Cole Palmer shares the same special trait that he saw in Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neville and Ronaldo shared the pitch at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson’s watchful eye for six years between 2003 and 2009, winning three Premier League trophies, two League Cups, an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a Champions League. Neville was instrumental in organising the Red Devils’ defence, while Ronaldo racked up 118 goals in 292 appearances before joining Real Madrid.

Neville believes that he has seen a crucial quality in Palmer that he spotted in Ronaldo during their six year partnership in the north west. Speaking on The Overlap US YouTube channel, the 49-year-old said: “The big thing for me when I watch Chelsea play – and Ronaldo used to do this when he got to maturity level, 2006 to 2008 at Manchester United – he would play in the area of the pitch where his team needed him, and where he could do the most damage.

“I actually watched him in a game against Crystal Palace last season where they were struggling in the first half of the game, and he then went on to the right-hand side and he flipped his position. All of a sudden, Chelsea started to play, they started to create problems.

“So if Cole Palmer is playing centrally, he can basically cause problems – but if he’s not, you can move him to the right, you can move him to the left, you can move him up top. And I think he’s got to that point now whereby he’s become Chelsea’s most important player, but I think he’s also a player that can dictate on the pitch where he plays.

“And I think you have to be very special to do that, because that was a license that I wasn’t willing to give Ronaldo in those early days because he was stood in front of me on the right side, and he’d switch and go and play on the left and flip his position. Or he’d go and play centre forward and I’d be like ‘Where’s he gone?’.

“And then after about probably three or four months from that 2006 season, when he started scoring ten goals, fifteen goals, I think ‘Hang on a minute, this guy knows what he’s doing – he’s preying on the weak point of the opposition team’. And I think that’s what Cole Palmer does.

“I think Cole Palmer has an unbelievable understanding of the game, unbelievable technical ability, and also the composure in front of goal. When you put those three things together, that is really, really special – and you cannot believe right now, sat here, how City have got that one so wrong.

“Because we know they got a good price for him, but his trajectory is absolutely fantastic, and City don’t normally get those ones wrong.”

Palmer rose through the youth ranks of Manchester City before signing his first professional contract for the club in 2020 – but struggled to achieve consistent game time under Pep Guardiola due to stiff competition from the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden.

He made the move to Chelsea in the summer transfer window last year for £40million and hit the ground running straightaway, in large part down to his versatility of being able to play anywhere across the front three as well as in attacking midfield.

He netted 22 goals and bagged 11 assists in his maiden Premier League season with the Blues, and he’s off to a flying start this time around as well, with six goals and four assists to his name prior to Sunday’s match against Nottingham Forest. His best performance to date for the Blues undoubtedly came during last weekend’s 4-2 win over Brighton, when he put four past Bart Verbruggen in the first half of the game.

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