The Madeira-born superstar was only 18 when he was handed Man United’s iconic number 7 jersey by Sir Alex Ferguson. Signed from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of £12.2M, Ronaldo was destined to leave his mark at Old Trafford. He made his debut as a substitute, replacing Nicky Butt, in a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.
That was the start of his big career in England. The rest is history. At 29, the reigning FIFA Ballon d’Or winner has polished his game and injury worries about his knee, which tarnished his World Cup in Brazil, vanished for 90 minutes.
On Tuesday night in Cardiff, Cristiano Ronaldo marked 11 years of being a number 7 icon with a well-taken brace against Sevilla in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. Commenting on his great start to the 2014/15 season, CR7 told UEFA:
“This was a trophy I wanted because I had not won it yet. I am happy to have scored and I felt good.
“It’s a very special day for me because it is my first Super Cup. The team has been superb today and we deserved this title.”
Platini’s joke: And perhaps Mister Ronaldo deserved two medals too?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s so good that Michel Platini tried to give him two medals... http://t.co/ypBjPAIyIL
— Football Vines (@Vine_Football) August 12, 2014
Ronaldo reunited with Fergie, the man who put him on the big stage 11 years ago:
Cristiano Ronaldo gets a hug, a smile and a few words from Sir Alex Ferguson after collecting the Super Cup with #rmcf
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) August 12, 2014
Look at the excitement on his face when he sees him haha https://t.co/EAJq2plINT #mufc #ronaldo
— Ciaran O'Connor (@ciaranoconnor22) August 12, 2014
#thebestplayeroftheworld @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/EU9jnCB9gt
— Iker Casillas (@CasillasWorld) August 12, 2014