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Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was raised in a world far removed from the glitz and glamour of Europe’s biggest club.
Born into a poor family on the Portuguese island of Madeira off the Morrocan coast, he spent his early footballing years starring for the local side, Nacional.
Sporting Lisbon snapped him up for their schoolboy team at the age of 13 for £1,500. Yet his first few months were spent defending himself from the local players who taunted him over his accent.
The difference between Madeira and Lisbon is the Portuguese equivalent of England and Scotland.
And on more than one occasion he found himself in bust-ups with youngsters who mocked the way he spoke.
However, he stood out as a brilliant footballing talent even then. For 12 months his young career was put on hold when a growth spurt halted his progress and threatened to block his route to the first-team as he became a gawky teenager.
Fortunately that lasted just one season and he established himself in a star-studded line-up. He went on to become the only player in Sporting’s history to play for the Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, B team and first-team in one season.
He earned the nickname ‘the new Patrick Kluivert’ because of his strong physical resemblance to the Dutch striker and his fantastic technical skills. Ronaldo impressed for Portugal at the European Under-19 Championships in Liechtenstein.
Sir Alex Ferguson claimed an agreement had been in place to sign the player in early 2003, but the Red Devils quickened their pursuit when it became clear other clubs were also chasing him. He said: "We have been negotiating for Cristiano for quite some time, but the interest in him from other clubs accelerated in the last few weeks so we had to move quickly to get him.
Liverpool and Chelsea were also reported to be interested in the player, but they were beaten to the punch by United. Through the association with Sporting, the Reds had first option and took full advantage after Cristiano was inspirational in Lisbon's friendly against United in early August 2003. Creating two of the goals as Sporting won 3-1 the United players in the dressing room raved about him constantly afterwards. On the plane back from the game they urged Ferguson to sign him - so highly they rated him.
The £12.24million deal became the highest a British club has paid for a teenager and came out of the blue for supporters and media alike.
David Beckham's departure to Real Madrid left the Red Devils No.7 shirt vacant and Fergie decided to hand the honour to Ronaldo. It was a big statement, signalling the next generation to follow in the footsteps of the England captain, Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson and George Best. By being the new number 7, Ronaldo now had the chance to become a legend at the Theatre of Dreams.
His first season began at home to Bolton on the opening day of the 2003 campaign with the home crowd amazed by his crazy stepover trick, pace and dribbling skills. A lavishly gifted footballer, being two-footed allowed him to play anywhere up front: right, left or through the middle.
The new arrival was an instant Premiership sensation but the bubble quickly burst. Opponents quickly caught onto the stepover move and it soon became apparent he was diving and going to ground far too much. As the season went on he eliminated this habit and focused on making his play more efficient. While still letting loose with a trick or two to leave defenders dumbfounded, Cristiano worked on making his football more direct and improving crossing accuracy.
His man of the match performance in the FA Cup final in which he scored the opener only further boosted his growth as a footballer. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said after the final, "If we look after him the right way he is going to be one of the stars of football." Prophetic words indeed.
The 2004-2005 season saw Ronaldo increasing his goalscoring prowess for club and country, including a cracker at home to Fulham and two at Highbury in the famous 4-2 win. Yet his performances lacked the consistency many had hoped would develop and fans could only help but compare him to the Chelsea flying wingers of the time, Damian Duff and Arjen Robben. In some games he was excellent wereas in others he disappeared and resorted to diving to win free-kicks.
In 2005-2006 he got into double figures for goals for the first time with 12. He had the honour of being voted by United fans with goal of season, a stunning 30 yard thunderbolt at Portsmouth. He scored twice in that game and also bagged 2 against Fulham and Bolton. Additionally, Cristiano scored United's third goal at Cardiff in the 4-0 win over Wigan that won the League Cup. On the field he was blossoming with improved crossing and ball delivery but Ronaldo may not look back on the season fondly.
His father, Dinis Aveiro died on 7th September 2005 and Ronaldo had to miss several games while recovering from the loss. Despite that, he played in a World Cup qualifier against Russia only hours after receiving the news. Then in October he was falsely accused of rape. The charges were dropped and he was totally innocent but it was an unpleasant time nonetheless.
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Cristiano had become a more rounded and consistent attacking player in what was an improved year for all at Old Trafford but there was a feeling he was still not the finished article. The season ended with media rumours that the player was unhappy and wanted a move to Spain - helped considerably by a World Cup incident in June with Wayne Rooney were he appeared to prove influential in getting the England player sent off.
Then the TV camera's caught him winking to a team mate as if to say "job done". Ronaldo seemed set for the exit as an angry English media/public erupted with typical fury. But like he did with Beckham, Ferguson calmed the situation and persuaded the young player his future still lay at Old Trafford.
Ferguson was proved wise once again, for the following season was a spectacular scucess for Ronaldo as he finally hit the heights long promised to become arguably the best player in England. He was utterly superb throughout the campaign and ripped opposition defences apart with his incredible dribbling, goals and array of tricks. The big difference was this time around he produced a consistent end product finishing joint top scorer on 23 with Wayne Rooney and producing 14 assists. Cristiano also had more starting appearances than any United player - 49 with another 4 from the bench.
He scored some great goals, including a superb solo run away to Fulham to clinch a vital 2-1 win, a late goal at Reading, a free kick at home to Portsmouth, away at Aston Villa. In Europe he bagged his first goal at home to Roma in the 7-1 win with a superb solo effort then got another in the same game. He also assumed the role of chief penalty kick taker and free-kicks as well. Ronaldo scored his 50th goal for United against Manchester City from the spot and within 24 hours United were champions again.
Real Madrid (amongst others) are well known to covet his luxiourious talents and speculation was rife throughout the season about a possible deal. In April 2007 transfer talk was silenced when Ronaldo, signed a contract extention for five years, worth a reported £120,000-a-week deal making him the highest-paid player in United history.
In the end there was no doubt this was Ronaldo's season as he cleaned up with the individual awards: PFA player of the year, PFA Young player of the year Football writers player of the Year, Manchester United fans player of the year.
If that season was great then 2007-2008 was to top that by being even better. Ronaldo went into the stratosphere of football excellence and scored an unbelievable 42 goals with 31 in the League. He broke George Best's record of scoring the most goals in a season from a wing position and his goals came from all types: shots, headers, long range close range, penalty, free kick. Add in his dribbling and speed and ability to open opposition defences, this was the season Ronaldo became the best on the planet.
Highlights include an awesome free kick at home to Portsmouth which was simply out of this world, his first United hat trick against Newcastle, a run at home to Dynamo Kiev and against Everton resulting in fine individual goals.
On many occasions he scored twice in a game. Two goals came against Everton, Bolton, Portsmouth, Fulham, Blackburn and Dynamo Kiev. In Europe he scored big goals away to Sporting Lisbon, Lyon at home, a powerful header away to Roma and a header in the Champions League final against Chelsea. Critics said he did not score in the big games but after this season he had scored against Arsenal twice, Liverpool and Chelsea on the biggest stage of all.
Ronny continued to be first choice free kick taker and as well as the Pompey rocket scored freekicks away to Sunderland and home to Sporting Lisbon. He also was United's chief penalty taker and delivered under high pressure against Arsenal which he had to retake, last minute at home to Everton and away to Wigan on the final day. His only negative in the season came from the spot though, as he missed in the Nou Camp and the shoot-out in Moscow. But luck smiled on him as neither mattered in the end.
As well as winning both Premiership and Champions League medals Cristiano was PFA player of the year, PFA Young player of the year Football writers player of the Year for the second year running. He is expected to be crowned World Player of the Year later in 2008. Rumours of Real Madrid interest persist but Sir Alex Ferguson is adamant United will not sell their superstar, not for any amount. Right now Ronaldo is irreplaceable and an icon of Manchester United, selling is out of the question.
Now, one of the most recognised faces in the world game, Ronaldo's time has arrived and after years of potential he has not only joined the ranks of the world's truly great players - he is the greatest player in the world.
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