The beginning of the end to Cristiano Ronaldo's glorious United career came on 11 June 2009, when the Reds announced they had accepted a world-record offer of £80million from Real Madrid.
In six years at Old Trafford, the Portuguese winger exhausted all superlatives as he matured from the inexperienced youngster who left Sporting Lisbon in 2003 to become the best footballer on the planet.
The story goes that Sir Alex was persuaded to buy Ronaldo - largely unknown when he signed as an 18-year-old for £12.24m in 2003 - by his players on the plane home from a pre-season friendly against Sporting. In truth, the boss had long been aware of his ability. The urgency stemmed from other clubs’ increasing interest. This was a target Sir Alex simply could not miss out on.
Ronaldo wasted little time in showing off his sublime skills with a stunning 30-minute debut against Bolton at OT in August 2003. There was a buzz of excitement as soon as he stepped off the bench and, after 39 appearances and eight goals that season – including the opener in the 3-0 FA Cup final win over Millwall – he was named Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.
His second term didn’t quite live up to his first, but late season form saw him end 2004/05 with nine goals in 50 appearances. In 2005/06 Ronny again reserved his best form for the latter stages, but the inconsistencies of a developing young player were being ironed out. He departed, full of hope and with great expectations, for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany - what turned out to be a truly defining moment in his career. In the quarter finals, Portugal met England and, after Wayne Rooney’s sending off, Ronaldo became the pantomime villain for the English press. Some doubted he would return to Manchester. But Sir Alex assured him any ill-feeling would blow over. It’d happened with Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Ronaldo met the inevitable boos with the best football of his life.
United’s title success in 2006/2007 was a team effort, but one man took the lead role in every major plotline. It began with the barnstorming 5-1 win over Fulham – Ronaldo and Rooney ran the show and publicly banished claims they were at odds. Dazzling wing-play was backed with regular assists and crucial goals. His form that season brought a glut of individual accolades and, despite interest from other clubs - notably Real Madrid - he extended his contract until 2012.
Ronaldo improved further in 2007/08, netting a staggering 42 goals in all competitions. In May 2008 he fired United to domestic and European glory; scoring a decisive penalty on the final day of the league campaign and a powerful header in the Champions League final in Moscow. His staggering individual performances gleaned a clean sweep of club and domestic individual honours, with global gongs soon to follow.
At Euro 2008, Ronaldo’s future was again the subject of claim and counter-claim. Happily, in the end, he pledged his allegiance to United, although ankle surgery delayed his start to the 2008/09 campaign. He made his return as a substitute against Villarreal in the Champions League and was given a rousing home reception. Two months later, his 100th Reds goal arrived against Stoke City at OT on 15 November 2008.
Ronaldo’s magical 2008 was rounded off with another string of individual honours. In October he was named FIFPro Player of the Year, and in December became the first United player since George Best in 1968 to be awarded the prestigious Ballon d’Or trophy. To cap it off, in January 2009, he became the first Red to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award. "This is the climax of a fantastic era," he said at the ceremony in Zurich. "I'm lucky to be part of United's history. It's one of the most important moments of my life, I hope to be back in this position again."
While Ronaldo did not dominate on the field in 2008/09 to the same degree as he did in 2007/08, he still played a significant role as the Reds achieved a hat-trick of league titles and reached a second successive European Cup final. For example, Cristiano scored in all three knock-out rounds of the Champions League, including the club's Goal of the Season to defeat Porto in the quarter-final second leg in his native Portugal and a double in the semi-final second leg against Arsenal at the Emirates.
In his final appearance of the season at Old Trafford, Ronaldo received his third championship medal after the Reds sealed the title with a point against Arsenal. At that stage, there was no indication that Cristiano was contemplating an exit - but that all changed less than a month later when the club announced it had accepted Real Madrid's record £80m offer.
in, manutd.com
Depois de duas pré-épocas de intenso assédio a Cristiano Ronaldo , parece que à terceira é de vez. O Real Madrid apresentou uma proposta recorde de 80 milhões de libras (93 milhões de euros) pelo avançado português, prontamente aceite pelo Manchester United .
O clube inglês comunicou hoje , através do site oficial, que aceitou a proposta dos merengues e que Ronaldo está autorizado a negociar com o Real Madrid.
"O Manchester United recebeu uma oferta recorde de 80 milhões de libras do Real Madrid pelo Cristiano Ronaldo. A pedido do Cristiano - que voltou a expressar o desejo de sair - e depois de conversações com os seus representantes, o United concordou em permitir ao Real Madrid que negoceie com o jogador", pode ler-se no comunicado dos red devils.
Os campeões ingleses dizem ainda que o negócio terá de ser concluído até ao dia 30 de Junho e que não farão comentários até tudo estar 'preto no branco'. Ora, sabendo que há interesse das três partes envolvidas, será apenas uma questão de tempo até Ronaldo vestir a camisola branca, desejo que há muito tornou público. Depois de Sporting e Manchester United, o Real Madrid será o terceiro clube na carreira profissional do número '7'.
Não há impossíveis para PérezA concretizar-se, a transferência de Cristiano Ronaldo será a mais cara de sempre, ultrapassando os 75 milhões de euros que Florentino Pérez pagou à Juventus em 2001, então como presidente do Real Madrid, para contratar Zinedine Zidane.
No início desta semana, novamente Florentino Pérez (que regressou recentemente à presidência dos madridistas) e o Real Madrid como protagonistas. Kaká foi adquirido ao AC Milan por 65 milhões de euros, relegando Luís Figo para o terceiro lugar.
Em 2001, o internacional português que terminou este mês a carreira de futebolista ao serviço do Inter de Milão, transferiu-se do Barcelona para o Real Madrid por 60 milhões de euros, numa das 'mudanças' que mais tinta fez correr no mundo do futebol até hoje.
in,expresso.pt
