On July 20th, 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo made his long awaited debut for Real Madrid at the Tallaght Stadium against Ireland Premier Division side Shamrock Rovers. In front of a strong 10,000 crowd, millions at home watched the £80 million pound signing wear the famous white of Los Blancos for the very first time.
Since that surprisingly warm day in South Dublin, the 32-year-old has scored a staggering 88 goals in 86 Champions League games for Real Madrid, lifted four Ballon d'Or trophies and broke numerous records in the process, but it didn't exactly go to plan for the Portuguese phenomenon in Tallaght.
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On this day in 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo made his Real Madrid debut against Shamrock Rovers in Dublin. Images: PA
Ronaldo was given 45 minutes to showcase his talents. A number of obligatory flicks and tricks couldn't win over the thousands in attendance, and he was later dragged off at half-time by manager Manuel Pellegrini.
It was a mediocre performance from the former Manchester United man, but as we all know, his career blossomed from that day in Dublin.
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Here are Ronaldo's highlights from that game:
If you look back at player ratings from Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Shamrock, it doesn't come as a surprise that Ronaldo only received 6.5 for his outing at the Tallaght that night.
Goal commented that he 'made plenty of good runs' and 'most of his tricks came off.', but his three shots at goal 'weren't quite up to scratch'.
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Not the best start to life at Los Blancos. Image: PA
Years after his performance against the Hoops, Shamrock decided to aim a tweet at Ronaldo after questions were raised about his future at Real Madrid.
When Craig Hillington suggested that Shamrock had agreed personal terms with Cristiano ahead of a £120 million transfer, they just had to drop comment:
One of the greatest of all time, but he still couldn't do it against the mighty Shamrock Rovers.
There's always next time, Cristiano.