It’s fair to say Cristiano Ronaldo is having a pretty good 2018.

The Portuguese superstar has scored 26 goals in 17 matches overall for club and country and looks simply unstoppable.

Not bad for a 33-year-old.

But you can’t say the five-time Ballon d’Or was always destined for greatness. It's taken a lot of hard work for him to reach the top.

When he first arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 2003, it was a very steep learning curve.

Arriving from Sporting as a skinny 18-year-old, Cristiano attempted to wow English fans with his fancy tricks and flicks.

But some people weren’t convinced.

CRISTIANO RONALDO OR JOSE ANTONIO REYES!?

That much can be seen in a thread that has emerged from October 2004, more than one year after Ronaldo signed for United.

The thread, which appeared on Xtratime Community, asks the question: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo or Jose Antonio Reyes?’

Reyes had signed for Arsenal in the January of that year and, alongside Ronaldo, was considered one of the best youngsters in world football.

In fact, it seems the majority of football fans actually considered Reyes to be better than Ronaldo at that stage of their respective careers.

There are 161 posts in the thread altogether but there aren’t too many suggesting that the United star was superior.

Instead, comments such as: “A confident Reyes is more effective than Ronaldo. Ronaldo has the quicker feet, but Reyes is a better finisher, passer and overall footballer,” dominate the thread.

Here are a few more rather hilarious comments suggesting Reyes > Ronaldo.

“Reyes scores 7 goals in the season, with plenty of assists, he's more effective, Reyes is better."

“From what I see, Reyes is a better player whom, by the way, has great dribbling skills either, Cristiano, unlucky the times I saw played with a basket case on his head, fun anyway when he nail some move and I support his irreverence, just that he isn't as smart as Reyes seems..."

"Reyes is far more effective. Ronaldo has more natural ability, but he doesn't produce the goods frequently enough. There's less than a year in the difference age-wise, but Reyes is, at present, a far better player than Ronaldo."

"It's known that along with Vicente, Reyes is the next best winger. Ronaldo is overrated."

Fourteen years on, they all look a bit silly now, don’t they…

While Ronaldo has gone on to win five league titles for United and Real Madrid, four Champions League and five Ballon d’Ors, Reyes never really fulfilled his potential.

He only lasted two-and-a-half seasons at Arsenal, scoring 23 goals in 110 appearances for the Gunners.

A four-season spell at Atletico Madrid followed, as well as loan spells at Real Madrid and Benfica.

In January 2012, he moved to Sevilla where he stayed until the summer of 2016 before switching to Espanyol. He now finds himself at Segunda División side Cordoba.

While Ronaldo’s individual trophy cabinet is rather incredible, Reyes isn’t too bad either.

A Premier League with Arsenal, a La Liga with Real Madrid and five Europa Leagues with Sevilla and Atleti.

He doesn’t really compare to Cristiano, though.