Lots of superlatives have been used to describe the precocious talent of Cristiano Ronaldo, mostly by loyal Manchester United fans, but when one of the greatest players who ever played the game suggests that he is better than two other massive football legends, then maybe those biased plaudits are justified.



Former Dutch International Johann Cruyff recently said of Ronaldo that he is a better player than Manchester United's greatest-ever legends George Best and Denis Law; both iconic players and amongst the most revered of all football fans? favourites. High praise indeed, but where did Ronaldo come from and how did he end up at Manchester United?

Born on February 5th 1985 in Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira, by the tender age of eight Ronaldo was playing schoolboy soccer for local side Andorinha where his father started as kit man before progressing to the role of technical director. Two years later local Portuguese League side CD Nacional snapped up the ten-year-old youngster and after a single season they sent him on a three-day trial to mainland side Sporting, based in Lisbon.

At this point, Ronaldo never looked back, being signed up for an undisclosed sum from CD Nacional. After five years honing his talents at the Sporting football academy he made his first team debut at the tender age of 16, scoring twice against Moreirenese. In the same season the six foot youngster featured in Portugal's team at the UEFA Under-17 Championships.

Although, originally a defender Ronaldo quickly and successfully made the transition to midfielder and winger before being spotted by Gerard Houllier, who at the time was manager of Liverpool. However, Houllier missed his chance to sign the player; and when Manchester United lost 3-1 to Sporting in the summer of 2003 with Ronaldo bagging a brace in the fixture, Sir Alex Ferguson was suitably impressed. At the urging of the Manchester United players, who had been run ragged during the game by the young player, Ferguson pursued the signing of and eventually landed him in August 2003 for a transfer fee in the region of ?12.24million.

Although he struggled to establish himself in his first season at the club, Ferguson persevered with his prodigy and after working on the lanky player's physique transformed him into a bigger, more confident player, whilst also ensuring that Ronaldo lost none of his trickery or his speed.

Despite being such a young age, Ronaldo seems to have been involved in Premier League football forever, yet he is still several years from his footballing peak. This player will undoubtedly feature at the top level of football for many years to come, but whether it is at Manchester United remains to be seen.