Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United in 2003 for 12.2 million pounds a record fee for a teenager in Britain. David Beckham had just departed to Real Madrid and Ronaldo was seen as a player who had the potential to step into his old boots. Cristiano was given the famous number 7 shirt previously worn by united legends such as George Best and Eric Cantona.

He made his debut against Bolton at Old Trafford and came off the bench. He took the place by storm with his quick feet and imagination. United fans were lavishing praise on the young Portuguese winger although Fergie initially used him as an impact substitute during games. His quick feet against tiring legs give Manchester United a lift towards the end of matches.

Ronaldo had come along way from his days in Portugal. He was with one of the biggest clubs on the planet and was able to financially take care of his family earning around 220,000 euros per month. His first season in England saw Ronaldo play 40 matches in all competitions scoring 6 goals. The Old Trafford faithful has seen enough to realise they had some player on there hands.

Cristiano’s second season with Man Utd was even better than the first. His performances on the pitch displayed his unquestionable skill with a high level of maturity. Under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson Cristiano was beginning to make headlines. 50 games and 9 goals in all competitions was a big return for a young player at such a big club.

The 2005/06 season started with so much promise but soon turned to despair. At the age of 52 Cristiano Ronaldo’s father, José Dinis Aveiro, died. It was a moment that brought everything Cristiano had achieved crashing back to earth. No amount of money or success could change what happened. Luiz Felipe Scolari broke the news to Ronaldo while away on international duty, he was completely devastated.

Ronaldo’s father had always been proud of him, always boasting to his friends the talent his son possessed. The respect was mutual. Cristiano decided to play for Portugal despite still grieving the loss of his father. Now every celebration includes a prayer to his father.

Cristiano’s game was steadily improving as the season went on. He added a cutting edge to his finishing and stopped the unnecessary step over’s. Ronaldo scored in the 4-0 demolition of Wigan in the Carling Cup final. At the end of a third season that produced a return of 12 goals from 47 matches, Ronaldo had the world at his feet. That was until the World Cup in Germany 2006.

Ronaldo came home from the biggest sporting tournament in the world as public enemy number one. His protest to the referee and infamous wink to the touchline after Rooney was sent off had English fans baying for his blood. The British press slaughtered him and Ronaldo was considering leaving. Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson tried sending him text messages but no reply came back. It turned out that Fergie was texting Cristiano’s old phone and finally managed to get in contact with him.

Fergie had already been in this situation with Beckham after he was sent off in a world cup against Argentina and the nation made him the scapegoat for England’s failure in a big tournament. Fergie was determined that nobody would drive Ronaldo out of England and went to work on keeping him here. He convinced Cristiano to do his talking on the pitch and opposition fans and the press will shut up. Real Madrid was reportedly ready to make a world record transfer bid in the region of £54 million to take him to the Bernabeu. But he decided to stay. His first away game for United was at The Valley against Charlton. Every time he touched the ball the crowd booed and whistled but as soon as he struck a sweet shot from outside the area that hit the bar they all went quiet.

Fergie said to Cristiano after the game this is how you stop fans getting on your back, you play well and they will be too scared of what you will do to them. This difficult period in Ronaldo’s career made him psychologically stronger and turned out to be his best year in English football. The 2006/07 season started as public enemy number one and finished as a premiership champion, semi finalist in the champions league and the first player to win all three major awards for player of the season in England.

This season has seen Cristiano Ronaldo be described as the best player in world by many leading figures in football. His ability is unquestioned with a goal scoring ratio that nobody would have predicted at the start of the season. Whether the season will end with any winner’s medals is still to be seen but the form of this young man you wouldn’t bet against it.

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