In a month that marks 50 years since George Best first pulled on a Manchester United jersey, I have decided to take a moment to remember some of the legends that have played for United, both past and present. A player who is arguably the most talented to have ever worn the red of United is Cristiano Ronaldo.
When Sir Alex Ferguson took United to Portugal in 2003 to play against Sporting Club de Portugal (aka Sporting Lisbon) in a routine pre season friendly, who could have predicted the huge implications of that match and one participant in particular? Gary Neville, England’s first choice right back and another Old Trafford legend, lined up against a spotty, unknown 18-year-old boy and things would never be the same again. The young Ronaldo ran rings around Neville all game, earning himself rave reviews. Sir Alex noticed this raw talent and within a few weeks Cristiano was on his way to Old Trafford in a £12.4million deal. It seemed a hefty price at the time for a largely unrecognised player but the return on this investment was to be absolutely incredible.
His debut came against Bolton off the bench. It was his first introduction to the British public and United faithful and he didn’t disappoint. The teenage prodigy showed no signs of stage fright and dazzled Bolton’s defence with magic trickery and lightning pace. It was however, to be a quiet season for the boy from Funchal, Madeira.
The 2004/05 season was to be much the same. ‘Ronnie’ was joined by another teenage sensation in the 18-year-old Wayne Rooney and they began to lay the foundations for what would be a lethal partnership in years to come as the pair matured together.
Then 2005/06 came and Ronaldo began the transformation from a player with promise to becoming a truly world class talent; perfect timing as it was a World Cup year. The highlight of his campaign was scoring a 30 yard cracker against Portsmouth; a team he would go on to enjoy playing against. It was the World Cup itself however, that put Ronaldo right in the limelight, for all the wrong reasons. He was seen as playing a major role in Wayne Rooneys sending off in the quarter finals against Portugal. An apparent wink to the sub’s bench did not go down too well as Rooney stormed off the field. Ronnie also slotted home the penalty that gave Portugal victory in the shoot-out.
If Wayne and Cristiano had any differences to sort out, they clearly did it very quickly and came out the other side stronger as the pair of them took the 2006/07 season by storm and Ronaldo began to introduce himself as a world-class performer. The first game of the season was a 5-1 demolition of Fulham where the two of them were unplayable at times. Ronaldo would go on to net 17 league goals and earn United the Premier League title back off Chelsea for the first time since 2003.
Then 2007/08 came. This year is quite possibly the single greatest season of performances by an individual performer I’ve ever seen. 31 league goals from midfield, 42 in total (beating George Best’s previous record of goals in a United season), a Premier League title and a Champions League title were all items added to Cristiano’s ever growing trophy cabinet. For his efforts, he even won all three domestic player of the season awards (the first man ever to do so) and collected the Ballon D’Or to boot. It was a truly remarkable season to watch. He scored goals against everybody on every occasion. He scored in the Champions League final and he scored potentially the best free kick ever against Portsmouth.
2008/09 was again a case of Ronaldo destroying all that went before him. Every shot seemed to fly into the net and had it not been for the emergence of a certain Lionel Messi then another Ballon D’Or would certainly have been won. He led United to another Champions League final where we unfortunately lost to a dominant Barcelona side. En route he managed to smash home a 40 yard stunner against Porto.
That was to be Ronaldo’s last season at Old Trafford. The much publicised interest of Real Madrid came to fruition and turned his head towards a new challenge, pitting himself directly against his greatest rival; Messi. A world record £80m bid was to be accepted that summer and we were to lose perhaps our greatest ever talent. Since that year we have never adequately replaced Cristiano and have been nowhere near as big a contender in Europe as we were with our famous no.7 on the team sheet. Rumour has it that attempts have been made to bring him home but they look increasingly despairing as he has just signed a new three year deal to keep him at the Bernabeu; making him the highest paid footballer in the world.
In terms of desire to stay as professional as possible and to improve; Ronaldo is second to none in dedication. He is the model athlete; he is the most incredible sportsman I have ever seen. He is 6’2 and has less body fat percentage than a supermodel. He can run as fast as any other footballer and jump higher than any defender. He has skills that would make Ronaldinho jealous and a shot that would go past any keeper past or present. He is breathtaking. What a United legend.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveira
196 Utd games – 84 goals
107 Potugal Caps – 43 Goals
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