Player Profile: Cristiano Ronaldo  

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Position: Forward

Date of Birth: 5 February 1985

Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira

Cristiano Ronaldo has rapidly made the transition from an exciting young footballing talent into a global superstar to become one of the most renowned and coveted players in the world game.

Having grown up on the island of Madeira, Ronaldo joined Sporting’s academy as a 12-year-old. Following on from the likes of Luis Figo and Simao Sabrosa before him, Ronaldo made his debut for Sporting against Moreirense in October 2002, at the age of 17, and he announced himself with two goals in a 3-0 victory.

He continued to showcase his talent in Sporting’s run to the league championship, but it would prove to be his first and last season in Portugal as many of Europe’s biggest club had already been following the youngster’s progress.

Dazzling display

Everything changed for the 18-year-old after he produced a scintillating performance as Sporting defeated Manchester United in a pre-season friendly in the summer of 2003. The United players frantically encouraged manager Alex Ferguson to bring Ronaldo to Manchester, which he duly did in an 18m Euro deal just days later.

Inheriting the famous no. 7 shirt worn by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, Ronaldo was heralded as the latest United superstar, and his sensational second-half cameo during the opening day win over Bolton Wanderers led Ferguson to claim that the Old Trafford fans had “found a new hero”. 

Ronaldo wowed observers in his first season in the Premiership with his speed, trickery and enthusiasm for the game. The campaign ended with a Man of the Match performance in United’s 3-0 FA Cup final win over Millwall, and Ronaldo was voted the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Season by the club’s fans.

Non-stop progress

Having scored six goals in his debut season, Ronaldo then hit nine in his follow up campaign, including a crucial double at Highbury during United’s famous 4-2 victory over Arsenal, and his third year saw him break into double-figures after notching twelve in 2005/06.

Aside from more goals, Ronaldo became an expert at playing on either flank, exploiting his ability to use both feet and becoming one of the Premiership’s most feared players. An increasingly strong physique was also combined with a good aerial threat and deadly-long range shooting.

World Cup controversy

Things turned somewhat sour briefly during the summer of 2006 when Ronaldo was strongly criticised by the English press, who accused him of conspiring to get Wayne Rooney sent off during Portugal’s last-16 World Cup match with England, in which Ronaldo scored the winning penalty of the shootout following a goalless draw.

Any thoughts that he would be hounded out of the Premiership were quickly dispelled as the following season saw his game step up yet another level, with Ronaldo combining with Rooney to help fire United to the Premiership title, earning him both the PFA Young Player of the Year award and the Players' Player of the Year award for 2007.

In the 2007/08 campaign, Ronaldo enjoyed his best season in a United shirt, scoring 42 goals and helping Alex Ferguson's side to a Premiership and Champions League double, with Ronaldo scoring in the European Cup final as his side beat Chelsea on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Moscow. A host of personal accolades followed, including the prestigious Ballon d'Or and Fifa World Player of the Year awards for 2008.

Throughout his time in England, which amassed a total of six years, Ronaldo regularly admitted an ambition to one day play in Spain's La Liga, specifically for Real Madrid. His superb working relationship with manager Ferguson had seen Ronaldo regularly convinced to delay his dream move, but faced once again with the player's insistence on leaving, Ferguson finally granted Ronaldo his wish and sanctioned a world-record 94m-euro transfer to the Bernabeu in 2009. Ronaldo was presented in front of close to 80,000 supporters in the Spanish capital, as he prepared to embark on the latest chapter of a truly remarkable story.

International Career:

Ronaldo made his international debut shortly after his move to Manchester United, and has since become the inspirational figure of the Portuguese national side.

He was one of the stars of the 2004 European Championships, and his reputation was enhanced throughout World Cup qualification, before Ronaldo used the World’s biggest stage in Germany 2006 to again showcase his exceptional talent. At the age of just 23, Ronaldo competed in his third major international tournament in 2008, as after a bright start to the competition, Portugal crashed out to Germany at the quarter final stage of Euro 2008.