the island of Madeira – nowhere more so than in his hometown of Santo Antonio. His father was overwhelmed with happiness to see his son lining up for one of the nation’s top clubs. He loved to share his son’s achievements with others. He used to treasure newspaper articles and reports regarding Ronaldo’s efforts in Lisbon and rushed around spreading the news on Mondays when the weekend games were reviewed in the newspapers. Certainly, everyone in the neighbourhood was kept well-informed about Cristiano’s achievements!
He played in 25 games in the green and white of Sporting during the 2002/03 season, scored five goals, and showed why the club took the effort to nurture him through his difficult days. His first team career began with a league debut against Moreirense aged just 17. It was an incredible moment in his life and the feeling of entering the action with the crowd cheering will stay with him forever. His mood was now vastly improved in comparison with the early days in Lisbon. He really felt like a professional footballer.
He made his mark instantly by scoring twice against Moreirense, one of which was a wonderful dribble and shot into the bottom corner of the net. Cristiano raced away towards the crowd after this goal to the deserved applause. It was the perfect way to introduce himself to first-team football. He then added another goal against fellow title contenders Boavista. His exciting style of play quickly won him many fans; they would hold their breath in expectation whenever Ronaldo had the ball. His inclusion in the team was always met with cheers, though he spent a number of matches as a substitute. But it would not be long before he was plying his trade at an even higher level.
It was far from an ideal season for Sporting, who failed to live up to the expectations of their passionate supporters. The players had to endure criticism as they slipped out of title contention. Having won the Portuguese title in 2001/02 and triumphed in the domestic cup competition, Sporting were tipped for another prolific campaign, but only finished third as Porto began their period of dominance under the guidance of Jose Mourinho. The team was disappointed to lose nine matches and draw eight, finding themselves 27 points behind Porto and 16 behind second-placed Benfica. Sporting’s cup campaign also ended a little prematurely as they were eliminated in the quarter-final by Naval 1º de Maio losing 1-0. Ronaldo was unfortunate to play in the side during one of the team’s worst seasons. More recently, Sporting have returned to good form, reaching the 2005 UEFA Cup final – losing to CSKA Moscow – and winning the Portuguese Cup in 2007; but the Portuguese league title has eluded them since 2002.
Costinha, the Porto midfielder, echoed the thoughts of many when he reflected that Cristiano’s first full season in the team could have been hard for him because Sporting had a bad campaign. It could have seriously dented his confidence. But Ronaldo still came out of it stronger. In fact, the winger was one of the main plus points for the club. He was a popular player within the dressing room and struck up friendships that he would keep for life, notably with Hugo Viana, a fellow midfielder.
Cristiano has not forgotten the influence that Sporting’s ‘football factory’ had on his development into a world class player. When he is back in Portugal – usually on international duty – he drops in at the club to see the young players. It allows him to offer advice to the current prodigies and to re-live his days there – which, despite the uneasy beginning, had been enjoyable. Ronaldo explains, ‘It is the place where I became a man and it makes me very proud to go back there and have dinner with young players who have the same dream I had.’
Ronaldo caught the eye of scouts throughout his time in Lisbon and had even come to the attention of Gerard Houllier, then manager of Liverpool. Things could have been so different had Houllier acted on his interest in the 16-year-old Ronaldo, who had starred for Portugal in the UEFA Under-17 European Championships. His Sporting Lisbon football education had earned him a place in the squad and he had dazzled scouts with his ability, albeit raw and untested in the more challenging leagues in Europe. It is at such tournaments that top clubs often spot potential superstars and there is no better audience for a youngster to perform well in front of.
For Ronaldo, it was an interesting experience. Some players had already benefited from playing in the first team of their respective clubs but he was still waiting to make the step up to the Sporting Lisbon senior side. He learned a lot about his game during the tournament and helped Portugal enjoy a good run in the competition. He could have been gracing Anfield not Old Trafford; he could have been linking up with Steven Gerrard, not Wayne Rooney. How Liverpool must be ruing that decision.
Phil Thompson, who spent time as Houllier’s assistant manager at Liverpool, has since revealed the details of the club’s interest. Thompson explained in the Liverpool Daily Echo that he had been invited by a contact, the agent Tony Henry, to watch Ronaldo play and was very impressed. He claims that Liverpool were offered Cristiano for £4 million by Sporting Lisbon, but the management were unsure of spending that much money on an untested youngster. The timing was wrong too, as Houllier had just signed Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec, and did not think the supporters would appreciate another inexperienced signing as the team aimed for the title. While Liverpool dallied, United took pole position.
Current Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also noticed Ronaldo’s potential early on. While Ronaldo and Mourinho have not always seen eye-to-eye in more recent times, the Blues boss recalls, ‘I went to watch Sporting and there was this tall, elegant kid playing up front. I had never heard of him before but my eyes were drawn to him right away. Cristiano has gone on to become a great player.’ Gradually, word spread around the country and abroad that Sporting had unearthed a flair player with huge potential.
His excellent performance for the Portuguese Under-21s against England Under-21s in late March 2003 may have caught the eyes of some English supporters, and it certainly did not escape Sir Alex Ferguson’s watchful eye. Ronaldo scored one of Portugal’s goals in a 4-2 win. It was a rare sighting of Cristiano in under-21 action. Such was the winger’s rise to the highest level that he barely had time to play alongside his fellow youngsters. England were simply unfortunate to have been one of the teams that had to face him.
Rather like his career with Nacional, his spell in Lisbon came to a sudden end. After just one season in the first team, he attracted interest from several top European clubs. With scouts regularly visiting the Portuguese capital, Ronaldo was in the shop window. His focus was on helping his team improve, but his suitors were lining up, poised to make bids. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted in the Independent, ‘We were on the case of Cristiano when he was 15. Such was the acceleration of his career that Real Madrid, Arsenal and Barcelona were all after him, so we felt we had to act.’
Initially, though, reports varied over who would win the race for Cristiano. Some believed that Inter Milan were favourites, having agreed to pay a transfer fee but allow Ronaldo to stay in Lisbon to further his football education before later moving to Italy. But others suggested that Carlos Queiroz, United’s Portuguese assistant manager, would be the deciding factor. Cristiano found all the attention very flattering but tried to remain focused on his game. A few rumours even suggested that Chelsea had made a late attempt to poach Ronaldo. Other reports linked Cristiano with a transfer to Real Madrid and Barcelona. The group of European powerhouses chasing him showed just how in demand he was.
With a tense scrap on the cards, Manchester United moved quickest to secure his signature, despite Sporting coach Fernando Santos’ hopes of keeping Cristiano. It was a friendly match between United and Sporting at Alvalade XXI stadium that finally convinced Ferguson to snap up Ronaldo. The media reported that Sir Alex had told ex-United chief executive Peter Kenyon at half-time in the game that they were ‘not leaving the stadium until we get the boy’ and recalled, ‘When we saw him play in a pre-season friendly for Sporting against us, at half-time I knew we had to get him.’
The consensus of the United players was the same. They saw Ronaldo as a very exciting prospect who could be great for the club and they urged their manager to bring him to Manchester. Ferguson realised that if Ronaldo carried his Sporting form into the Premiership, he could dominate English football for more than a decade. Cristiano had shown his appetite to progress and it was certainly a gamble worth taking, considering Ferguson’s track record of getting the best out of young footballers.
Interestingly, the only other time that Ferguson had been so heavily influenced by his