Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken ofthe short chain of events that led him to leave Sporting CP behind in 2003 at the age of just 18 and sign for Manchester United, with a performance against his future employers enough to convince Sir Alex Ferguson there and then.
A teenage Ronaldo famously ran riot against United in a pre-season friendly to christen Sporting's new Estádio José Alvalade home, and quickly after the game he was personally told by Ferguson that he was wanted immediately at Old Trafford.
"The first game that I played against Manchester United was an unbelievable game. It was the perfect night, the perfect night," Ronaldo is quoted as saying by Sky Sports while attending a Nike launch for his latest boots.
"After the game some of my team-mates said: 'Listen, you're going to go to Manchester, trust me!'" the favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or added.
Ronaldo explained how he was introduced to the United players there and then, as Ferguson told the youngster in no uncertain terms what his intentions were ahead of a £12.24m deal.
"Sir Alex Ferguson was there, and [they said] he wants to speak with you. I go to the dressing room, he introduced me to the players," the playersaid.
"For me, I was a little bit shy. And Sir Alex Ferguson said to me: 'Listen, I want you now.'
"Everything came so fast, and two days after I speak to the coach and they take me to England, and I was in Manchester, and I signed."
Ronaldo has previously also spoken about Ferguson about being giventhe iconic number seven shirt at United. It had been vacated by David Beckham earlier that summer, but Ronaldo actually wanted to keep the same number, 28, thathe'd worn in Lisbon until his new boss told him otherwise.
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