Ronaldo reaches Manchester United anniversary

On this day, 13 years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo made his Manchester United debut after signing from Sporting CP and so began the path that took the Real Madrid icon to the pinnacle of the game.

During his time at Old Trafford, Ronaldo won three Premier League titles and the Champions League and his personal record of 31 goals during the 2007-08 season not only earned him the Golden Boot but also fired United to the title.

August 16 2003 and an 18-year-old Ronaldo replaced Nicky Butt after 60 minutes of United’s Premier League fixture against Bolton Wanderers; the first appearance of a career in England that would last 292 matches over six years, under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ronaldo’s first goal for United came in November 2003 with a free-kick in the 3-0 win over Portsmouth and he would later finish his first season at the club with a goal in the FA Cup final win over Millwall.

One of the Portuguese forward’s best goals came during his most prolific campaign in the 2007/08 season when he struck what is still one of the finest free-kicks the Premier League has ever seen against Portsmouth.

At the end of that 2007/08 season, Manchester United lifted the Champions League trophy and Ronaldo was the competition’s leading scorer.

Despite missing from the spot in the penalty shootout against Chelsea in the final, it was Ronaldo’s towering header in Moscow that ensured that the game ended 1-1.

The following season, United failed to reclaim the Champions League but Ronaldo’s outrageous striker against Porto earned him the 2009 Puskas Award.

His final goal in a United shirt came in the Manchester derby and just as his record had begun it came via a free-kick. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side would lift a third consecutive Premier League trophy and Ronaldo ended the season with 26 goals before finally sealing his world record transfer to Real Madrid.