Becoming a Household Name
When signing with Manchester United, Ronaldo made history, becoming the first Portuguese player on the team and the most expensive teenage transfer fee in English football history with a fee of £12.24 million (over $16.5 million), according to The Daily Telegraph.
Ronaldo was signed for the 2003-04 season and his transfer fee proved to be worth it—he scored the team’s opening goal in the 2004 FA Cup final, helping them win the championship.
This was far from the only championship that the soccer player would win with Manchester United—he went on to win three premier league titles while with the team.
And Ronaldo was about to make headlines, setting another record in the sport.
Making History
Ronaldo made headlines ahead of the 2009-2010 season when he joined Real Madrid, for a world record transfer fee at the time of £80 million ($108 million).
He went on to play for Real Madrid until 2018 before signing with Juventus from 2018 to 2021 and then returning to Manchester United in 2021. During this time and while with Manchester United, he was also playing with Portugal’s National Team.
Ronaldo didn’t only set transfer fee records—he was busy setting records in the sport.