Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has been talking about the evening that changed his life forever; when he played for Sporting Lisbon against Manchester United in 2003.
The European Championships winner was just 18 when he made the move to England and the transfer was agreed just two days after his meeting with future manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo told BT Sport: “The first game that I played against Manchester United it was an unbelievable game. A perfect night. A perfect night! When I listened after the game, some of my teammates said. ‘Listen, you’re going to be going to Manchester, trust me’.
“Sir Alex Ferguson was there and said, ‘I want to speak with you and I went into the dressing room and he introduced me to the players. For me it was a little bit fun, but I was a little bit shy to Sir Alex. And then Sir Alex said to me, ‘I want you now’.”
“Everything came so fast and two days after, I spoke to the coach, and they took me to England. [Then] I was in Manchester and I signed [the contract].”
The attacker went on to play nearly 200 Premier League games for the Red Devils, scoring 84 goals during his six years at the club.
Ronaldo left for Real Madrid in 2009 for a then world record transfer fee and he has been just as successful in Spain as he was in England.
To add to his three league titles and one Champions league, he now has a La Liga and two more Champions League medals to add to his collection.
Ronaldo also captained his national team to a 1-0 win over France at Euro 2016 to win their first international trophy.
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