Concurrently with his individual achievements, Ronaldo enjoyed his greatest team success in Spain to date, as he helped Madrid win La Décima, their tenth European Cup. Upon signing, Ronaldo cited his need for a new challenge as his rationale for departing Madrid, [239] but later attributed the transfer to the lack of support he felt was shown by club president Florentino Pérez. The British press had been critical of Ronaldo during the season for his "elaborate" step-overs in trying to beat opponents, [50] but teammate Gary Neville said he was "not a show pony, but the real thing", and predicted he would become a world-class player. On 26 August, Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City over personal terms, [287] but the club pulled out of the deal the following day due to the overall cost of the transfer.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Top 10 iconic moments from his career - BBC

As the joint top scorer with three goals, alongside five other players, he was again included in the team of the tournament.

According to Romano, Ronaldo rejected a move to Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City to join Al Nassr. One of the world's most marketable and famous athletes, Ronaldo was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016, 2017, and 2023, and the world's most famous athlete by ESPN from 2016 to 2019. His second goal was his 33rd of the campaign, surpassing George Best's total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season, setting the club's new single-season record by a midfielder.

Cristiano Ronaldo Photos and Premium High Res Pictures

On 29 September 2002, Ronaldo made his debut in the Primeira Liga, playing for Sporting CP's main team against Braga, and on 7 October, he scored two goals against Moreirense in their 3–0 win. After winning the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, [189] Ronaldo received the 2014 Ballon d'Or, [190] joining Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten as a three-time recipient. He subsequently achieved his best-ever goalscoring start to a league campaign, with 15 goals in the first eight rounds. off the ground, it garnered him a standing ovation from the opposing fans in the stadium as well as a plethora of plaudits from peers, pundits and coaches.

On 20 June, Ronaldo made his 200th appearance for his national team, scoring the only goal of an away win over Iceland, in the Euro qualifiers, as he became the first player in the history of men's international football to make 200 appearances for his country. Ronaldo scored United's 1,000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2004, their only goal in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. Use our updated nickname generator for that, or choose any ready-made nickname from the collection on this or other pages of Nickfinder. There have been a few players described as 'the new George Best' over the years, but this is the first time it's been a compliment to me. For example, you can use the name of your favorite character from a book or movie, or create your own nickname that reflects your personality.