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The former Barcelona star Yaya Touré has recounted the challenges he encountered while playing against Cristiano Ronaldo during the latter's time at Manchester United.
Toure faced Ronaldo, Man United’s best player, during the UEFA Champions League final in 2009.
The Ivorian played alongside Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol in defence and needed to stop the Portuguese legend from making an impact.
Ronaldo was one of the best players in the world and was at the top of his game, having led his team to the final.
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Toure speaks on marking Ronaldo
Yaya Toure has discussed how challenging it was for him during his career to contain Ronaldo in the UCL final.
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Speaking on the ObiOne podcast, he said, “Actually, going to the final was incredible. Because of Cristiano Ronaldo, one time, he was getting the ball, kept the ball.
“I think Cristiano was good with his left foot and right foot, and Pique said to me, ‘Yaya, in the final and before the games, because when you know when you line up for the time of the Champions League and things like that, when you come to shake the hand, he calls me, shakes my hand and I say, ‘What are we going to do? and Puyol comes in, ‘Hey, negro boy, he says, ‘Yaya, you have to be strong.
“My heart is gone. I forgot to sweat. I was thinking, How am I doing that? And after that, when we go to the field, the referee starts to blow up the things.
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“I was like, ‘He said, ‘Yeah, let's go. We're going to go now; that's that. And after that, I looked at Busquet. We attack one time; after that, we lose the ball. Oh, Cristiano was running.
“And Pique, when you are coming, you just overpass and boom, hit the ball, and touch the crossbar and like I said, you're in trouble here. I said, Pique, you know what? I jump on him.
“If you pass me, you cover the other side. That's how we control him. Even Busquet, when you jump, you jump on him and me, I follow where he goes; you go that side, go to that side and that's how we just manage that by ourselves in the field.”
Barcelona went on to defeat Manchester United 2-0, with Samuel Eto'o scoring the first and Lionel Messi sealing the win.
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