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Sheffield Wednesday player, Semedo reveals how Real Madrid star saved his career

Sporting wanted to kick Semedo out, but Ronaldo who was the golden boy of the youth set-up threatened to leave if his friend leaves

 

Sheffield Wednesday player Jose Semedo has revealed he owes his career to his friend and Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Semedo and Ronaldo are childhood friends and started their career at Sporting Lisbon.

The pair were roommates during their days at Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo stepped in to help his friend when he was nearly thrown out of the academy.

Sporting wanted to kick Semedo out, Ronaldo, who was the golden boy of the youth set-up threatened to leave if his friend leaves.

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“I owe everything I have to him,” Semedo told Daily Mail.

“The place I am from in Setubal is not a good place for a young man. A lot of my friends from there were involved in crime. Some of them are dead now, or in jail. If I had gone back, maybe I would have stolen cars with them. He changed my life. My family, my children, my career: it is all because of him.”

Semedo also revealed that Ronaldo was heavily bullied at the academy because of his thick Madeira accent.

Ronaldo was so frustrated about the bullying that he once threw a chair at a teacher who failed to stop the mocking.

“He was the best, he controlled the ball, outskilled everyone, didn't pass the ball, scored. Oh my God. And then he spoke: he was from Madiera, and the accent there is very different.

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“Everyone started to laugh. He had a hard time with that accent. It sounded like it was not Portuguese.

“We couldn't understand. He threw a chair at a teacher once because people were laughing and they didn't stop it.”

Watch this video of Cristiano Ronaldo, below

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