Cristiano Ronaldo (15/08/09)

Ronaldo was born on the 5th February 1985, on the small island of Madeira, which is owned by the Portuguese. Named after Ronald Reagan, due to his father's respect for the man, few would have gambled that this child would make it to the very top of the Football tree, especially with Madeira mainly being used for farm-land. He has one brother and two sisters, and it is family whom he deems most important in his life at the moment.

He was then spotted by former Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier at the age of sixteen but Liverpool had no intentions to sign him at that time because they thought he was too young and he needed more time to develop his skills. However, in the summer of 2003, when Sporting played against Manchester United and defeated them, Cristiano caught the attention of Manchester United manager, Mr. Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player. Initially, he requested for the number 28 as his jersey number because he didn't feel that he could live up to the pressure of previous players such as George Best and David Beckham who wore the number 7 jersey.

The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending of his club team mate, Wayne Rooney who was playing for the England team. It wasn't too long until fans started accepting Cristiano again. In 2007, he won PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Fans' Player of the Year, Portuguese Footballer of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year. The year 2008 also saw him taking back the PFA Player Of The Year Award for the second time running. That same year, Ronaldo also had to deal with controversies regarding his club transfer to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. He eventually chose to stay with Manchester United and stressed to the public that he has no intentions of leaving the club.

In case you have not heard the fantastic news, just over a month ago Manchester United accepted an offer in the region of 94 million Euros for the services of winger Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2008 Ballon d'Or has been vocal about his desire to leave Manchester for Madrid for the past 3 seasons, and at last, his boyhood dream will become a reality when he completes the world-record transfer later this month.
It is expected Cristiano will become a Madrid player by June 30th as he joins Kaka' as Los Blancos' summer recruits. It is uncertain what number Cristiano will take up for the whites, as the number 7 jersey is famously occupied by Raul. Cristiano's legal team have already trademarked both CR9 and CR10 in preparation of his expected shirt number change.

On 10 july 2009 Cristiano Ronaldo was finally unveiled as a Real Madrid player on Monday in front of a record-breaking 75,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.