Ronaldo was born in Funchal in the
Madeira Islands where he started his career at Nacional before moving to Sporting
Lisbon. He made his debut for Sporting in the Portuguese Super Liga in September
2002 at the age of just seventeen. Cristiano caught the attention of many
- United players included - during the pre-season friendly which marked the opening
of Sporting's new
stadium, a game in which Ronaldo scored. The Reds
management had been watching him for some time, however. "After we
played Sporting last week the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly,
and on the plane back from the game they urged me
to sign him. That's
how highly they rated him," revealed Sir Alex Ferguson at his signing press
conference. "It was only through our association with Sporting that
they honored our agreement of months ago," Ferguson said. ""He
is one of the most exciting young players I've ever seen, an extremely talented
footballer. He's a two-footed attacker who can play anywhere
up front:
right, left or through the middle," he concluded. Cristiano, who appeared
25 times for Sporting last season and scored three goals, added: "I am very
happy to be signing for the best team in the
world, and especially
proud to be the first Portuguese player to join Manchester United. "I
look forward to helping the team achieve even more success in the years to come."
Christiano Ronaldo factfile
Born, 5 February, 1985, Madeira, Portugal.
Height: 184cm
Weight: 75kg
Position: Striker
Previous club: Sporting
Lisbon
International honours: Portugal U15, 16, 17 and senior international
caps. International stats correct at 22 August 2003. | 
