Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiros (born February 5, 1985), commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Portuguese football (soccer) player. Ronaldo plays for Manchester United F.C and the Portuguese national team. He is widely considered as one of the world's best players.
Ronaldo's first professional club was Sporting Lisbon, which he joined at the age of thirteen. He played well as a junior, and was allowed to play for the youth national teams. At the age of 16, Ronaldo already got his debut for Sporting's first team, and he also played in the UEFA Champions League in 2002.
Ronaldo was signed by Manchester United in the summer of 2003, for a transfer fee of £12.24 million. He got his United debut against Bolton in August, and made an immediate impression on the fans. Ronaldo was awarded the club's player of the year award in his first season in Manchester.
In the summer of 2004, Portugal and Ronaldo played in the European Football Championship. Portugal ended up as runners-up, losing to Greece in the final. Ronaldo scored two goals in the tournament, including the opening goal in the semi-final against the Netherlands.
The 2004/05 season turned out to be disappointing to Ronaldo and United. United came third, 18 points behind champions Chelsea, and also lost the FA Cup final against Arsenal on penalties.
Ronaldo was arrested in October 2005 on a rape charge, but the charges were later dropped. The alleged rape in combination with his father's passing made the fall of 2005 tough for the young man, but his performance rebounded in the spring. He scored a total of 12 goals during the 05/06 season, including one in the Carling Cup final.
Ronaldo contributed to United teammate Wayne Rooney's sending-off during the 2006 World Cup, and many had expected that his return to England would be hard. However, the 2006/07 season turned out to be a great success for Ronaldo and United. Ronaldo scored 17 goals in United's Premiership win, and was awarded both the PFA Player of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year awards. So far in the 2007/2008 season, Ronaldo has been even more prolific, scoring an amazing 30 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions (Domestic and European) despite playing as a winger rather than a striker. Ronaldo's cultured play, goalscoring ability and dazzling skills remind many of the late George Best, arguably one of the greatest European players of all time.