The £ 80 Million Player

Cristiano Ronaldo has become a household name.  If not for his performance on the field, Ronaldo is the face of countless ads.  He’s probably the most famous soccer player right now after David Beckham.  On top of that, he is currently the highest paid player in soccer history following his transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid for 80 million Euros or $ 132 million.  So that must mean he’s reeeally good, right?

Ronaldo began his youth career with Andorinha and then Nacional.  In 1997, he joined Sporting CP’s youth squad for two years and spent another two years with the club’s senior team.  In 2003, Ronaldo who was only 18 caught Alex Ferguson’s attention, and the latter offered Ronaldo a £ 12.24 million contract.  With MU, Ronaldo helped the team won their first Premier League title in four years for three seasons in a row, the FA Cup, 2 League Cups, FA Community Shield, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup.  Not to mention the individual awards he’s gained along the way, including FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year for two consecutive years, Portuguese Footballer of the Year, European Golden Shoe, FIFPro World Player of the Year, FIFA World Player of the Year, and many others.

Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in 2003 against Kazakhstan.  He defended his country in Euro 2004 and was named in the team of the tournament.  Ronaldo also joined his countrymen in the Summer Olympics in the same year.

Ronaldo’s World Cup debut was in 2006 which earned him the second highest scorer in the FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone.  In 2007, days after turning 22, Ronaldo became Portugal’s team captain following Portuguese Football Federation’s personal request and last wish to the team’s coach.

In South Africa, Ronaldo will have the opportunity to live up to his fame, if he can overcome his injury from the qualifying match against Hungary.  But if Sir Alex himself calls Ronaldo “easily the best player in the world”, then he’s probably isn’t half bad.