Cristiano Ronaldo's Career after age of 17

By the age of 17, Cristiano Ronaldo really started to attract many attentions throughout the World, and his tremendous performances when playing for Portugal's Youth Team in UEFA's Under 17 Championship, made him one of the most promising stars of the moment. Among many other top clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal had some scouts on that tournament. Managers Gérard Houllier and Arsene Wenger were allegadly interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it was revealed later that both clubs got a bit hesitant on betting in such a young player and Manchester United ended up to rush things and sign Ronaldo in the 2003 pre-season.

The moment Cristiano Ronaldo definately convinced a top club to sign him, was after a 2003 pre-season friendly match, between Sporting and Manchester United, in the inauguration of the "Estádio José de Alvalade" in Lisbon. The Portuguese side defeated the Red Devils by 3-1 and United players were said to be stunned by Cristiano Ronaldo's technique skills as well as his natural talent and kept talking about it on their way home. Rumors say that Sir Alex Ferguson had a chat with his team players and then decided to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, in a transfer fee around 15 million euros (£12.24 million pounds).

Cristiano Ronaldo's adventure in England, started with a memorable debut for Manchester United, coming in as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers and playing for around half an hour. Those 30 minutes are probably still in the memory of many Manchester United fans, since CR7 stunned everyone in the stadium and impressed the traditional harsh English media, with his dazzling dribbles and runs over the wing. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United, by taking a curled free kick, in a 3-0 win against Portsmouth, in November 2003. However, and despite several promising starts, Cristiano Ronaldo's first two seasons in Manchester United received mixed reviews. He got praised for his technique and skills, but he often got criticised for lacking consistency and poor decision making on the field, which seems to be a natural thing at the age of 17 and 18.

In the year of 2005, Cristiano Ronaldo's father, José Dinis Aveiro, died of an alcoholism liver disease. Ronaldo was 20 years old and that was one of his most difficult moments of his life. CR7 is said to not drink any alcohol as a consequence of what happened with his father.

In 2006 it was widely reported Cristiano Ronaldo and manager at the time Sir Alex Ferguson, had placed a £400 bet in which required the Portuguese international to score at least 15 goals that season. Ronaldo won the bet by scoring 17 goals...

The following season, Cristiano Ronaldo and even some bookmakers upped the ante on their sports bet, with Ronaldo putting his hair on the line by promising to completely shave his head should he fail to score 20 goals. However, the bet was eventually declined by Ronaldo himself, after Sir Alex Ferguson requesting for the Portuguese to score 35 goals during that season.