Cristiano Ronaldo

When Sporting CP beat Manchester United in a friendly in August 2003, Alex Ferguson came away determined to sign the 18-year-old from Madeira. Within a week Cristiano Ronaldo had signed and been handed United's number 7, once worn by George Best. He arrived as an old-style right winger, quick off the mark and eager to beat his man with step-overs, chops and the odd flip-flap before whipping in a cross. The early years were bumpy. Ruud van Nistelrooy objected to his showboating, and Ferguson, teammates and the press sometimes called him selfish or too flamboyant. His training habits told a different story; the Brazilian Ronaldo put it simply: "I trained because I had to, he does it because he loves it." Once his stamina grew and he was freed to drift in from the left, the goals followed. In 2007–08 he won the European Golden Shoe, scored in the Champions League final and took his first Ballon d'Or at 23. Start with the physical gifts. He stands 1.87 metres with a remarkable spring, and in 2013 he set the highest recorded jump in football; many of his goals have come from headers. He is right-footed in name only, comfortable striking with either foot, and his shooting carries both power and accuracy from distance. Free kicks became a signature, struck knuckleball-style after that wide-legged stance, and former United assistant manager Mike Phelan called him "the ultimate showman." Real Madrid paid a world-record fee in 2009. Nominally a left winger with licence to cut inside, he left as the club's all-time top scorer with four Champions League titles, scoring in the 2014 final and converting the winning kick of the 2016 shoot-out. His reputation for delivering in high-pressure matches rests on nights like those. Later, under Zinedine Zidane, he became a roaming centre forward, praised for shaking off markers, finding space in the box and needing only a touch or two. His 2018 bicycle kick at Juventus drew a standing ovation from the home crowd. The limits are real too. His defensive work shrank at Madrid, and Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian argued that his "relative immobility" in his mid-30s left Juventus weaker even while he kept scoring. He has been criticised for going down too easily when tackled, and his scowling, arm-waving manner is often read as arrogance, though he insists it is simply competitiveness. For Portugal he holds the men's records for international goals and appearances, and he led the side that won Euro 2016 despite going off after 25 minutes of the final. As of 2026 he is still playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has twice been the league's top scorer and scored twice on the last day to clinch the 2026 title. Judging him means deciding which Ronaldo you are looking at: the explosive young winger or the penalty-box finisher he became.