16 Years Ago Today, Cristiano Ronaldo Announced Himself To The World

16 years ago today, a Portuguese teenager shot to fame.

Manchester United played a pre-season friendly against Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2003.

Sporting CP ran out 3-1 winners with a young lad stealing all the headlines following his starring role on the wing.

An 18-year-old by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo ran rings around United's defence, dazzling on-lookers with his terrifying speed and blistering step overs.

Ronaldo running down the wing with blonde extensions gloriously flowing, and his ear ring patched up impressed Sir Alex Ferguson so much, he snapped up his services ahead of the 2003/04 season.

United shelled out a reported £12.24 million which made him - at the time - the most expensive teenager in English football history.

The rest, you could say, is history.

From Premier League success to Champions League triumph, whilst scoring goals at an alarming rate.

He's a certified United legend with fans still hollering his name at Old Trafford.

Viva Ronaldo.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sporting CP, Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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