Manchester United signed 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo OTD 17 years ago for £12.2 million

On this day, 17 years ago, Manchester United completed the transfer of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo for a reported £12.24m from Sporting Lisbon. Ronaldo was just 18 years of age at the time and became the most expensive teenager in English football when Sir Alex Ferguson decided to splash the cash. Ronaldo was also the first-ever Portuguese player to sign for Manchester United and went on to become one of the greatest players to don the club's jersey, leaving a legacy etched in stone. 

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Cristiano Ronaldo Sporting Lisbon to Man United transfer

On August 12, 2003, Manchester United announced they had completed the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon. The story of Ronaldo's talents as a teenager spread like wildfire across Europe in the early 2000s and Sir Alex Ferguson opted to splash the funds in order to land one of the best up and coming names in football. Manchester United broke a then-British record transfer fee and paid Sporting Lisbon £12.24m for Ronaldo's services. Ronaldo had initially requested to wear #24, his number at Sporting Lisbon, but received the number 7 instead, a jersey worn by club greats like Eric Cantona, George Best and David Beckham.

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Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United career: Debut and first goal for the club

A teenage Ronaldo made his debut for the Premier League giants only four days after his big-money move to Manchester United was completed. The winger was brought on as a substitute at Old Trafford during a 4-0 win over Fulham. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Man United against Portsmouth on November 1, 2003, and scored three more league goals in the second half of the season. Ronaldo's rise to prominence was meteoric as he soon became the go-to player for Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

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Cristiano Ronaldo Man United career and achievements

Ronaldo won his first trophy with Man United in 2004, his one and only FA Cup. The star winger also won three Premier League titles, two English League Cups, three English Super Cups and one Champions League title at Man United. During the 2007-08 season, Ronaldo won the Golden Boot as he scored a then-record 31 goals in the English top division and had 42 goals overall. Later that year, Ronaldo won the first of his five Ballon d'Or awards as well. In six years at Old Trafford, Ronaldo made a total of 292 appearances and scored 118 goals for the Red Devils. Ronaldo called time on his Man United career a summer after Real Madrid came calling, choosing to set the Bernabeu alight in 2009. 

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Image Credits - AP