Cristian Ronaldo Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Manchester United on the 12 of August 2003. He is widely regarded as one of the premier talents in European football, Cristiano Ronaldo originally played for Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon, a team famous for producing Inter Milan star Luis Figo. Able to use either foot and play on both sides of the pitch, he attracted the attentions of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3-1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium. After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against. That was enough for Sir Alex Ferguson to decide that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder, having recently completed the transfer of David Beckham out of the club. Since debuting for the famous English club, Cristiano Ronaldo has earned a equal amounts of praise and criticism for his flashy style of play and dribbling tricks. He demonstrated these at the 2004 FA Cup final in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, in which he starred, scoring the first goal in United's 3-0 win over Millwall. In his second season at United, Cristiano Ronaldo has grown as a player, notably starring in the memorable 4-2 demolition of champions Arsenal at their Highbury stadium. The doubts over his 'flashy' style and perceived inability to produce an 'end product', the final killer cross or pass to set-up a goal, must surely now have been allayed, as Ronaldo has consistently been one of United's most dedicated and effective players in a season of highs and lows. United reached the FA Cup final, but had disappointing campaigns in the Premier League and Champions League.