August 6, 2003. The name ‘Ronaldo’ appeared on MUTV. This Ronaldo was quickly brushed off. “He can’t possibly be as good as the other Ronaldo,” my dad joked. The new Cristiano Ronaldo effortlessly maneuvered around Manchester United players as if they were just training cones. Five days later, after spending the day at a cricket match, I came home and turned on my teletext to channel 302. The soccer section. The headline stated, ‘UNITED AGREE TO SIGN RONALDO’.. Even at that time, Cristiano Ronaldo was already a well-known figure. Anyone who witnessed United’s loss in the opening game at the Jose Alvalade Stadium could tell which Ronaldo was headed to United. One was given the green light. Wearing those silver Nike boots, United recognized a promising talent at just 18 years old.
