Former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Chicharito joined Rio Ferdinand's show to discuss his remarkable career, the dressing rooms that shaped him, and the superstars he played alongside.

Chicharito: I would never say Ronaldo is arrogant, because I think many people don't really understand him. Ronaldo always fights against the current, against everything. He's always fighting for the underdog, constantly having to prove himself. And because of that, when he wins something and you ask him, "You've achieved this—are you the best in the world?" he says, "Yes, I am the best."

But he says that because he's truly proven it. Society discourages people from praising themselves, because as soon as you say you're good, others think you're arrogant. That's why I always felt that even though he's already great, if he keeps this up, he could become an even better player. Yes, he's already very good, but there's still room for improvement.

I think he could reach an extraordinary level. Anyway, let's chat. Hey, Chicharito, my brother, how are you? How are you doing? Thank you for your time. Thanks to everyone. I know you've been trying to reach me.

You had a little incident just before coming in. What happened? I was a bit nervous. Look. Oh man, nervous? Come on, stop joking. Come on. Good. How about you? I'm just seeing you now. Wow, this perspective is amazing. Good, my brother. Incredible. We're very lucky. Yeah, we're very lucky. Hey, I see you everywhere in the media now.

I see you doing a lot of things—you must be smart. When I see you on TV, I think, "Oh, that makes sense." Thanks. So, let's get straight to it. Let's talk about your characteristics as a striker first. For someone who's never seen you play and doesn't know anything about you, how would you describe Chicharito as a player?

More movement without the ball than with it. Yes, of course, I need the ball to score goals, but most of my goals come from tap-ins near the goal or finishes in two touches—that's my style. Why? Because before I went to Europe, I was already a versatile striker in Mexico. I started my career as a winger and then switched to centre-forward. Because of that, I developed this running style from my time as a winger. When wingers stand on the side, they basically can't see anything behind them because of the touchline; but you can see everything in front. So my runs are always more without the ball, or when I do have the ball, doing one-on-ones, crosses, shots, things like that.

But when I joined you, I realized that I needed to spend more time bringing my full range of abilities, or I had to quickly adapt to what the team needed. When playing with Wayne Rooney, you don't need to do much else—let him handle the game for you.

When your wingers are Ryan Giggs and Nani, you just need to give them options. So my idea was to adapt as quickly as possible. I then understood that what the team needed was the best option. I'd get the ball, he'd finish it, everyone celebrates. When Giggs does what Giggs does, you don't need to do much—just give him the option, you know.

So I tried to adapt first, rather than show my characteristics or abilities. I just wanted to prove that I could play in this team. Whatever the team needed, I would do it. The first word you mentioned earlier was "running," right?

Why did the team need running at that time? For example, it's about drawing defenders, making myself a threat behind the last defender. As long as I run into the gap down the channel, if the opponent doesn't follow, I can give you an option to go straight to goal or create space. If the defender follows me, the defensive line stretches, and the gap between midfield and defence opens up. For Wayne, or for Park Ji-sung, Anderson, or whichever midfielder—Nani and so on—space opens up. I think I observed this at that time.

For example, Dimitar Berbatov was a very good striker, you know, but he played more with the ball at his feet. Of course, he could also move into space and was quick back then, but I'm the type of striker who is energetic and loves to run. So I wanted more movement without the ball.

You couldn't stay still. Exactly. It's still like that—I'm still always moving. I'm always very active in that regard. So that's what I knew I could do. But I then found that not many strikers played like I did back then, but fortunately, I did.

So, that's the reason. It's the running. Is running innate or learned? Because some of the runs you just mentioned, like running from midfield into space behind the defence, are excellent; but more often, when the ball is on the wing or around the box, those small movements—maybe two or three runs to get the ball—is that something that needs to be taught, or is it something you're born with? It's instinct, a sense. Honestly, you can't teach it. Of course, you can learn some things by watching players—like that two-touch routine can be learned—but to make an accurate judgement while running, for example, my instinct tells me the ball will go to the near post, and it actually does, that kind of thing can't be taught. Because sometimes as a striker, you go to the near post first, but the ball goes to the far post. But when I came to your team, I realized that stronger physical contact was allowed there. Rio, for example, if I'm standing next to you, even if your timing is perfect, as long as you use your arm to hold me, I can't move like that. Even if I try hard to find a way, it won't work.

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