Cristiano Ronaldo has been referred to be a genius in the past. It was only a genius who could dream up those dazzling feet down the left-wing, those knuckleball free-kicks, and that goalscoring record.

If anyone thinks of any of those footballing characteristics when Mick Clegg refers to the 37-year-old as a genius, it isn't him. Ronaldo's knowledge, according to Nick Clegg, a former power development coach at Manchester United, is what has enabled him to become one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the sport.

It's an intriguing way of thinking about things. Most of the time, when we see players with Ronaldo's level of skill, we assume that they are born with those abilities. He was destined to be a luminary.

In 2003, an adolescent arrived at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium with a lot of ambition. He told Clegg that he would one day be the best player on the planet, but the 'power coach' had heard it before; what distinguished Ronaldo was the order he brought to his life in order to ensure that he achieved his goal.

As Clegg tells the Manchester Evening News, "I'd heard that before, but when someone makes a claim like that, you watch to see if it's true." "When he told me that he was going to the best player in the world, I thought he was joking," Clegg says.

All the parts of his life that he didn't yet know, didn't comprehend, or that he needed to develop and grow his understanding of were being sorted out by him. This individual was in possession of an extremely sound concept; all that needed to be done was to develop the concept further.

I had the pleasure of working with him, and he ended up becoming the model for me in terms of developing the finest possible product." Any sport or business can benefit from his method; the key is in comprehending all of the factors involved, which is exactly what he embodies.

"He was really conscientious about what he required. In the traditional sense of the word, genius is usually associated with university professors, but this guy is a genius because even without the knowledge gained through schooling, he was able to put something together in his own mind that was the most perfect thing possible for him to achieve his desired goal.

Despite the fact that I've listened to a lot of lecturers and experts, this person has the entire picture. It's hard not to recognize the flaws in some individuals who are considered geniuses when you listen to them speak, but Cristiano exemplifies the best of everything that can be put together, which is why I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him and learn from him."

As a result of his 11-year tenure at Old Trafford following his arrival in 2000, Clegg worked alongside Ronaldo throughout his first time at the club.

Once he returns, Clegg anticipates that the Portuguese great will be able to continue for some time yet, and feels that he has the ability to play into his 40s. The former British prime minister, Nick Clegg, wants to see Ronaldo put those same skills to good use in maximizing his own talents by becoming a coach or a manager, ideally at Manchester United, and he hopes that will happen.

"In my own opinion, Cristiano Ronaldo would make an excellent manager, and he should manage as a player in addition to being a player-manager," he stated. He has ideas and an awareness of the culture of teams, and he has more experience than an awful number of players, so I am confident in his abilities.

A lot of things work in his favor because of his previous expertise at the highest level. His ability to manage players is something I believe he would bring to Manchester United. He would be my first option for the position.

On a pre-season run in Orland in 2003, Clegg leads the United players

Because of the pattern he established of what is required from players, principally himself, but he has also imposed those requirements on others, it is approaching the point where he knows who is truly fit and dedicated, and I believe he possesses a level of vision that is superior to the majority of people.

However, Clegg's 11 years at Manchester United were a whirlwind of achievements and memorable individuals that have all been documented in a new book, The Power and the Glory.

It tells the story of Clegg's astonishing journey to the position of power coach, a road he chose after participating in some promotional stunts for a band he was a member of. As the bass guitarist, Clegg became aware that his "arms were skinnier than my guitar strings" and set out to correct the situation.

In the process, he developed a strong attachment to the gym culture, training his own children, including Steven and Michael — both of whom were teenagers in United's academy — while Steven followed in his father's footsteps and is now employed as a power coach at the club.

It was the physiques of Steven and Michael that allowed Clegg to get his foot in the door at Old Trafford, and his sliding doors moment came in 2000, when physio Rob Swire requested him to work with the injured duo of Wes Brown and Roy Keane during the summer months of 2000.

"Players were coming back in from vacation and seeing what Roy and Wes Brown were doing, and they were doing a lot of boxing training, and that sparked an interest in everyone," Clegg recalled.

"Roy was the individual who was most helpful to me. Due to his prior boxing experience, we conducted some boxing training together. That was something Wes enjoyed as well, so the two of them helped to promote the gym culture. "Roy was always asking folks to come see me," I recall thinking.

In place of their own particularly created conference room upstairs at the training site, the gym became the focal point of activity for the players at Carrington. Clegg also became a friend to many and tried to get them to go to Bill Beswick, a sports psychologist. Bringing in Clegg and Beswick typified a time when Manchester United were the dominating pioneering force in English football and Sir Alex Ferguson was always looking for ways to improve his team's chances of progressing further.

"There weren't a lot of guys who went to Bill's. Following his introduction, I realized he was an extremely sound individual with a lot of strong principles and ideas, so I advised the players to "go and visit Bill, he's fantastic; just go and have a chat with him," Clegg said, speaking to the MEN over Zoom from his present gym.

"At the end of the day, he came up to me and said, 'you're the psychologist here, not me, and I wouldn't have anyone in the office if you weren't here.' That was fantastic because we were encouraging each other, and that was exactly what the whole place was about: encouraging each other.

Ferret was the biggest and greatest psychologist of them all; his work consisted of studying players and determining who was up for it and who was struggling; he was adept at identifying these characteristics, which is why he was so effective." In the time that I was there, he did very little instruction and more observation.

"He opened his mind to a wide range of possibilities, which I found to be really interesting. He was a well-informed individual who was also a keen observer."

Fabien Barthez had more practical reasons for getting on the weights as Clegg's drills got more and more popular with the players. The Dukinfield-born coach witnessed it all, from Ronaldo's dedication to Keane's boxing to Keane's dedication to Ronaldo's boxing.

"Fabien came to me because he enjoyed training but also enjoyed a cigarette. His post-training routine included going to the laundrette and chatting with the females there, followed by a trip to the gym, where he worked on his chest in particular," he explained.

"When I questioned him why he didn't do anything else, he replied, 'Oh, I simply need a large chest.' When I inquired further, he stated that it wasn't about his football, but rather about his girlfriend."

It was Keane who had first spotted the potential for success that Clegg possessed, and when the Irishman was appointed manager of Sunderland in 2006, he attempted to get his old colleague to join him. Clegg refused to leave United in order to follow Keane to his first position, instead recommending that Keane take his newly retired son, Michael, which eventually led to Clegg's own return to Old Trafford in his own right.

Despite the fact that players left the United fold, Clegg never made too much of an effort to keep in touch with them, knowing that they needed to establish relationships at their new clubs. Some players, including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have maintained contact with him over the years, and he has attempted to persuade him to return to football a few times.

As soon as Roy stepped down from his management position, he reached out to ask if he could come and train in the gym because he enjoyed boxing. "So we trained together for a few years, and it was through that that Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes would come with their children," he explained.

He came to see me a couple of times, and he wanted to talk to me about the possibility of returning, but I'd already started this business, and I'd already moved on from football in the way that I was then, because you can only really have one gym where you're putting on the atmosphere and intensity," says Ole Gunnar.