Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo sent him a surprising text message immediately after his late heroics against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored a late match-winner against the Yeloow Submarine as the Red Devils clinched a 2-1 victory over Unai Emery's side in the UEFA Champions League.
Scroll through the gallery above to see how Ronaldo celebrated his match-winning strike against Villarreal
The Portugal international seemed had a relatively quiet game before snatching the win in the dying minutes of the game for his team, and Ferdinand has since claimed that, soon after the final whistle, the 36-year-old sent him a message saying he was certain he would get on the scoresheet that night.
"He [Ronaldo] texted me tonight saying 'I didn't play well but I knew I'd score,'" Ferdinand said during BT Sport's coverage of the match.
"That's the belief that he has. The other players are feeding off it. It's a great place to be.
"United's performance today wasn't great, it wasn't at the level Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] wants it to be. But when you need a goal, a moment to galvanise the squad, the stadium, the fanbase, Cristiano Ronaldo steps up.
"He wants to be that guy the chance falls to. His goal record says it all. He's there for the big moments. He's a big part of that too.
Read: Solskjaer praises record-breaking Ronaldo
"When you have a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, the players in the dressing room are given life. There's a lease of life, belief, because they know if the chance comes, he will put them away.
"It gives you that ability to be relaxed. It was the biggest thing in our team. When you get under even more pressure and you can see the clock ticking, you don't panic. We were very composed because we believed the chances would come."
Here are the players who have featured in the most games ever in the UCL, including Ronaldo