Cristiano Ronaldo: A success story
Cristiano Ronaldo was born on the 5th of Feburary 1985 in Santo Antino, Portugal. Portuguese maestro Cristiano Ronaldo started his career as a footballer with Portugal’s club Andorina. He rose to fame when he was brought to Manchester United by
Sir Alex Ferguson from Sporting Lisbon.
Gerard Houlier was the first to acknowledge Ronaldo’s talent when Houlier was working as Liverpool’s manager. Liverpool rejected an offer to sign him stating his skills were still underdeveloped and it would take him a few years to cope with top flight football
in the English Premier League. Ronaldo moved closer to a move to Manchester United when sporting defeated Manchester United 3-1 in a friendly match in 2003. The same year, Ferguson brought him to Old Traffod and gave him the famous number 7 shirt left vacant
after the departure of David Beckham.
Ronaldo’s debut for United came as a substitute in a home match against Bolton Wanderers. During his six year stay at United, Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances helping the club achieve their second Champions League title.
In the 2006/07 season he managed to break the 20 goal barrier for the 1st time in his career. It was obvious that this was the start of something special. Fans expectancy was at an all time high as the talented Ronaldo was now understanding his
limits. Manchester United won the league thanks to an inspired Ronaldo performance that year. He was named PFA player of the year and nominated for the FIFA and European player of the year awards. Although Ronaldo lost out to Kaka in the end, many predicted
that sooner or later he would win the prestigious award.
That day was not far away as Ronaldo won both the awards, the following year as he amassed more than 40 goals in the season. It was an amazing achievement as Ronaldo was not considered an out and out striker. Manchester United won the league again and went
one step further this time. Ronaldo’s exploits helped United win the UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea in the final on penalties, following a 1-1 draw. Ronaldo had now won the 1 trophy that had eluded him.
Many pundits thought Ronaldo had achieved all he could at Manchester United and needed a new challenge. Real Madrid came calling, at first Ferguson kept them at bay keeping his star man at the club. Playing for Real Madrid was a childhood dream for the Portuguese
superstar though and in the summer transfer window of 2009, Ronaldo managed to move closer to his dream.
Real Madrid signed Ronaldo for an astounding 80 million pounds making him the most expensive player in the history of the game overtaking his now team mate at Real Madrid, Kaka. Ronaldo had a very sparkling first season at Real Madrid but unfortunately did
not manage to win any major trophies. Real Madrid could only finish 2nd behind bitter rivals Barcelona in the Spanish la liga.
The new season has started very well for the Los Blancos and Ronaldo. With the Charismatic Jose Mourinho at the helm, much is expected of the club. Ronaldo is flourishing under the eye of Mourinho as Real Madrid is unbeaten in all competitions and are at
the top of La Liga after 12 games. Much credit is attributed to Ronaldo as he has scored 15 goals in 12 league games.
The Ronaldo story is not going to end here. The superstar has a long way to go and many predict once he is finished, he will be amongst the best of the game and many more chapters will be written about him.
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