Cristiano made no secret of the fact that he wanted to play in Spain and soon his dream move would be realised after Real Madrid made their intentions to sign the world's best player clear. The move happened in 2009 for a world-record transfer fee of 80 million pounds (94 million EUROS). Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid in Spain and represents Portugal at national level as the team's captain.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, was born on the 5th of February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira (Portugal). He began his professional career with Sporting Lisbon in Portugal but his talent was soon recognised by many of Europe's elite clubs all wanting to capture his signature.
As a junior, Ronaldo played for Andorinha for two years and soon made a move to more competitive football when he was snapped up by CD Nacional. In 1997, his move to a much higher level was confirmed when Sporting Lisbon captured his signature. His progression with the Portuguese team was rapid and in 2003, Ronaldo's rise to fame was meteoric. Sporting were opening a new stadium and to mark the event, hosted Manchester United in a friendly match. The players of Manchester United were reportedly so impressed by Cristiano's talent, they urged manager Alex Ferguson to swoop for him.
This soon became a reality and Manchester United came to an agreement with the Portuguese side to lure their promising talent to England for 15 million EUROS, or 12.24 million pounds. Ronaldo was eased into English football, much more physical than in other European countries, and it wasn't long before Ronaldo (or CR7 as he was known after taking David Beckham's famous number 7 shirt) became a household name.Ronaldo's first honour with Manchester United was the FA Cup in his second season. Ronaldo's career with Manchester United was sensational and his partnership with Wayne Rooney had other clubs in Europe fearing the prospect of facing the Red Devils.
Ronaldo's personal highlight with Manchester United was being crowned as the Ballon d'Or in 2008, a title he has yet to re-capture after Lionel Messi won the accolade in 2009-2011.
Cristiano reportedly earns 12 million EUROS a year with the Spanish giants and has won several major personal and team accolades including the Golden Boot and La Liga.
The FIFA World Player of the Year in 2008 and a winger who plundered an unbelievable 42 goals across all competitions in 2007-08, Ronaldo won all there was to win with the Red Devils and finally earned his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a world record fee of £80 million as part of the new era ofgalacticos at the Bernabeu.
After blossoming under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, he had the chance to come of age at the 2006 World Cup, though one of the memorable images of the tournament was his wink at the bench after Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney was sent off in a game against England. He also came in for fierce criticism for diving, which resulted in him being booed at games and it cost him the Young Player of the Tournament award.
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