On an unusually sunny day in Manchester on August 16th 2003, Manchester United held a narrow one-goal advantage against bogey side Bolton with just 29 minutes remaining. It was a tense affair and Sir Alex Ferguson searched for inspiration.
He looked towards the substitutes bench, chewing his gum with a little more force than usual, and a £12.2m midweek arrival from Sporting Lisbon stared back at him with purpose.
From that day onwards, a star was born. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro's debut against Manchester United 10 days previous to his Old Trafford bow was the start of his unbelievable journey to the top.
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"The first game I played against Manchester United was an unbelievable game, the perfect night." Ronaldo reminisced.
"When I listened after the game some of my team-mates said 'listen, you are going to go to Manchester, trust me. Sir Alex Ferguson is there and wants to speak with you. So I went to the dressing room and he introduced me to the players, which for me was a little bit fun because I was a little shy.
"Alex Ferguson thdn said to me 'I want you now'. Everything came so fast and two days later I spoke to the coach and they took me to England. Then I was in Manchester and I signed." Ronaldo said during the launch of his new range of CR7 boot.
(Credit: PA Images)
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It has been a remarkable journey for the Madeira-born Ronaldo.
From a skinny, gangly teenager with Spaghetti-like string running through his hair to the almost machine-like centre-forward we hail on a weekly basis at Real Madrid.
14 years on from that day in Manchester, when 67,647 people rose to their feet to celebrate a memorable 30 minute cameo from Ronaldo, his meteoric rise to 42 hat-tricks, 13 trophies and four Ballon d'Ors is analysed meticulously on a daily basis.
But despite holding record after record, his ability and 'natural' talent is often questioned. But why?
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From day one, his confidence and ability stood out like an oasis in a barren desert.
His time under Sir Alex Ferguson was nothing short of legendary. The Portugal international has cemented himself into the hearts of United fans around the world, but his contribution and personality towards the club has earned him nothing but respect from plenty elsewhere, whether that be in or outside of the game.
In those seven years he spent at Old Trafford, Ronaldo recorded the highest number of goals scored to win the Premier League Golden Boot for a 38-game season: 31 goals (shared with Alan Shearer & Luis Suarez).
He was also the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, the first and only Manchester United player to win the European Golden Shoe and the first and only Manchester United player to win the Fifa World Player of the Year.
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Cristiano has continued to prove doubters wrong year after year, and this season has been one of his best.
At the age of 32, Ronaldo has managed to score 55 goals this season: 42 for his club and 13 for his country. The fact that the forward has scored 18 goals since 5th February is testament to his consistency in front of goal. Fun fact - by contrast, Sunderland have scored four.
The former Manchester United winger has a total average of 0.96 goals per game this season. Of course his record in previous seasons is just as good, but 2016/17 has turned out to be a crucial year in the biggest competition in the world - the Champions League.
Ronaldo's success in the UCL has proven to many that he can in fact do it on the biggest stage. Many in the past have questioned his ability to step up when the big boys are in town, but his performances in recent games against Bayern Munich and Atletico have squashed those doubts.
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Cristiano scored two consecutive Champions League hat-tricks, and has netted eight goals in his past four games in the tournament.
Ronaldo's hat-trick against Atletico meant he became the first player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League knockout stages.
He has now scored 13 semi-final goals in the Champions League (10 for Real Madrid, three for Manchester United) - the most by any player, including when the tournament was called the European Cup.
To put his record into perspective, Ronaldo has as many knockout-stage goals as Raúl, Inzaghi and Shevchenko combined
Ronaldo's record in the Champions League is quite remarkable. The forward has scored a staggering 88 goals in 86 Champions League games for Real Madrid, while assisting 23 times in the process.
The fact that Ronaldo didn't score in his first 26 Champions League games sums up how hard work and ambition has improved his game. I mean, he has scored more Champions League goals than Atletico Madrid - which is ridiculous when you think about it.
In total, Ronaldo has made 390 appearances for Los Blancos, scoring 399 times since 2009, but his record for national side Portugal is something to admire.
And people still call him 'overrated'?
He is the youngest player to reach 100 caps for his country at the age of 27 years, 8 months and 11 days.
He is the top scorer for his country with 71 goals, and is the only player to score for Portugal in 3 different World Cups
Not to mention his contribution to lifting the European Championship in 2016 with a memorable managerial performance against France.
The following stats speak for themselves:
- First player to reach 40 goals in a professional league in two consecutive seasons
- First player to score in every minute of a game
- Only player in history to have scored 60 or more goals in a calendar year four times (consecutively from 2011 to 2014)
- Only player to score more than 50 goals in six different seasons (did it consecutively)
You have to consider the four time Ballon d'Or winner as one of the greatest. The combination of talent, hard work and perseverance has stood him at the top for over 10 years.
I can only count a handful of players who have successfully produced time and time again for such a long period, it's just a shame that a lad called Lionel is forever mentioned when this competition over the 'best in the world' tag is brought up.
I think we should just enjoy both Messi and Ronaldo while we can. Just remember, the earth is 4.5 billion years old and you've been born in the same life time as these incredibly talented players.
But who is the greatest?
My money is on Cristiano.
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