Cristiano Ronaldo Bio

Cristiano Ronaldo finally earned his dream move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, 12 months after a saga which had seen Manchester United fight tooth and nail to keep hold of their star player.

The Portuguese star had never tried to hide his desire to play at the Bernabeu, something which made United boss Sir Alex Ferguson even more determined to stand firm.

Rumour and counter rumour dominated the 2008-09 season, though the denial from Manchester United that there was a deal in place to take Ronaldo to La Liga on June 30, 2009 was always denied. The fact that United, in announcing they had accepted a world record, £80m bid for their player, said the deal would be finalised by this very date could only raise eyebrows. Maybe a deal had been struck a year earlier when Real were repeatedly beating on their door?

One of the most exciting and dangerous wingers in world football, Ronaldo has pace to burn and possesses a fierce shot, be it from open play or set pieces. After criticism for his over-elaboration, gamesmanship and tendency to disappear in games, it has all come together for the Portuguese star.

He arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 as a raw player with many rough edges and departed six years later as the FIFA World Footballer of the Year.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, to quote his full name, was signed by Manchester United with the cash received from the sale of David Beckham to Real as an unknown teenager.

The right-sided wing wonder came off the Sporting Lisbon production line, following the likes of Luis Figo and Joao Pinto into a big European move.

Ronaldo's talents had been hailed in his homeland for well over a decade - he was the subject of a transfer at the age at eight in his native island of Madeira.

On August 15, 2001, he was handed his Sporting debut as a 16-year-old against Second Division B side Atletico. His league debut saw him score twice in a 3-0 victory over Moreirense and then hit a late winner in a 2-1 defeat of Boavista.

He was soon to play a starring role for the Portuguese Under-17 side at the European Championships.

His two-footedness and ability to play on either wing or as a support striker made him the ideal candidate for Sir Alex. The United boss had been eyeing the player for a year but his hand was forced by interest from other leading European clubs, including Real Madrid and Juventus, and Ferguson used United's close relationship with Sporting and splashed out £12.24m.

Ronaldo made his United debut in a 4-0 thrashing of Bolton at Old Trafford. He replaced Nicky Butt just after the hour and produced a mesmerising performance. Three of United's goals came after the young star's introduction.

Ronaldo did struggle at times in the first half of the season as he adapted to life in England, but after the turn of the year decided to turn on the style and starred in the FA Cup final win over Millwall. He also dominated the Carling Cup final of 2006 as Wigan were put to the sword in Cardiff.

His trademark footwork set the Premiership alight, and earned him a place in Portugal's squad for Euro 2004.

He found the back of the net in the semi-final against Holland, although there was heartbreak for the winger when Portugal lost in the final to Greece. Along with Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo was one of the stars of Euro 2004.

Ronaldo also starred at Germany 2006, despite a well publicised incident with Rooney which placed his future at United in doubt. But some well chosen words from Sir Alex kept him at United.

Ronaldo was the dominant player as United won back the Premier League crown in 2006-07 as he finished second top scorer in the league and swept the individual awards board.

But the best was yet to come. In 2007-08 he was unstoppable, netting an unbelievable 42 goals - 31 of them in the Premier League - to secure back-to-back titles. He also scored United's goal in the Champions League final and although he missed in the penalty shootout the Red Devils would still be victorious over Chelsea in Moscow.

Ahead of Euro 2008, Ronaldo batted away questions about his future but it soon became clear he wished to move to the Bernabeu. By keeping hold of Ronaldo it was purely delaying the inevitable, but Sir Alex could claim a huge moral victory over Real and their transfer market tactics by keeping him for an extra season.

He picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out of the start of 2008-09, but returned to aid United's title challenge.

Although he did not have the same impact as the previous season, at the end of the year Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipient since George Best in 1968 and then went on to be the first Premier League player to ever be named as FIFA World Player of the Year.

Even in May 2009, ahead of another Champions League final and following another Premier League title, Ronaldo was insisting he was happy at United and would not be leaving. But there was a cheeky grin on his face as he answered those questions, maybe because he always knew where he would be playing in 2009-10.

Manchester United revealed they had accepted a world record £80m bid from Real for the player and the deal was confirmed on July 1, 2009. While that is an enormous amount of money, the gap Ronaldo will leave in the United forward line will be just as big after he scored 117 goals in 290 games for United, 242 of them starts.