Cristiano Ronaldo may be a five-time Ballon d’Or winner – but he was taught a lesson when competing at an elite level by Cafu.

The 39-year-old faced the Brazilian legend twice in the 2004/05 Champions League last-16 clash between Manchester United and AC Milan.

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But he failed to impose himself against a formidable Milan back line that consisted of Cafu, Alessandro Nesta, Jaap Stam and Paolo Maldini.

Ronaldo was pocketed in both legs, with United losing 1-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg, and the return fixture at the San Siro ended with the same scoreline in Milan’s favour.

And it was in the second leg where Cafu showed Ronaldo what was required to compete at the top level.

The Real Madrid icon let his frustrations get the better of him following a mini-collision with the two-time World Cup winner.

It led to a fresh-faced 20-year-old Ronaldo to square up to the right-back, where he pushed him in the neck.

Loving the fact he had gotten in his head, Cafu simply laughed in his face, leading to Wayne Rooney dragging the Portugal international away.

In an interview with the Champions Journal, Cafu revealed that he had been taunting the winger during the match, which had caused Ronaldo to get worked up.

He said of the clash: “That match against Manchester United [in 2005] I remember really well.

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“I had some duels with Ronaldo in that game. He was very young, I was much older than him, but we had a great battle. I didn’t want to let him get by me.

“I was saying, ‘Kid, here, no. You won’t pass.’ He replied, ‘Yes, I will,’ then me again, ‘No!’

“I remember that game very well because United are always United. They had a very strong team.

“But Milan were really playing some great football, playing as a team, in which every player had known each other for so many years. That was the best atmosphere we experienced.”

Later on in the match, Cafu showed his elite defending skills as he tackled Ronaldo with ease after failing to fall for his trickery.

Ronaldo attempted to bamboozle Cafu with a fancy ball roll move, but the full-back didn’t bite, and dispossessed him comfortably before starting a counter-attack.

And it was Cafu that produced the match-winning assist in the second half to Hernan Crespo, as Milan advanced into the quarter-finals.

They eventually made their way to the final, where they faced Liverpool in Istanbul in a game for the ages.

Milan led 3-0 at half-time, only for the Reds to pull off a stunning comeback, where they eventually emerged victorious on penalties.