Cristiano Ronaldo's extraordinary career tally stands at 770 goals following his hat-trick for Juventus against Cagliari. 

For months, there has been a little confusion surrounding whether the Portuguese had in fact surpassed Pele's record. 

There can be no disputing that now, though, and the 36-year-old is being exalted as the greatest goalscorer of all time. 

While only 118 of those goals came during his time at Manchester United - his most prolific years were at Real Madrid - it was the Red Devils who transformed him from a precocious, sensitive but immensely talented young winger into one of the most lethal finishers in the world. 

That's why it cost the club just £12.24million to sign him from Sporting Lisbon. Sir Alex Ferguson was aware of his potential, but it took time for Ronaldo's United teammates to accept him. 

In fact, former United wonderkid Mads Timm, who has just released a book entitled 'Red Devil', has written how the future Ballon d'Or winner was "bullied" because of his hair when he first rocked up at Old Trafford. 

Timm, whose own story didn't quite pan out like Ronaldo's - he now plays for Kerteminde Boldklub - writes (via The Sun):

"He was quite extraordinary as a footballer, and as a person. Like me, he was bullied when he came to the club. With his hair - which he soon got clipped - and with his almost acrobatic attempt to impress the coaches.

"He could stand and do 10-15 step overs before he tried to dribble past the opponent.

"'Pass now, just pass, dammit,' shouted Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer constantly to him when we had reserve team matches together.

"The special thing about Cristiano Ronaldo was that he immediately took the fight against the hierarchy. And he won it.

"He was completely indifferent to the rest of his teammates. He gave no room for others. It was me, me, me. Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7."

Neville and Solskjaer will eventually have eaten their words as Ronaldo's dribbling ability became renowned. 

It's a fascinating insight into Ronaldo's mentality.