10 Best Cristiano Ronaldo Moments Ever
5. Attracting United's Attention
Long before Manchester United put the money up to sign the young Cristiano Ronaldo, Sporting Lisbon had already taken a risk on the 16 year old in their youth ranks. Ronaldo had a very clear passion for dribbling that some would've called showboating but Sporting saw the talent through the trickery.
According to form, Arsene Wenger had already met with Cristiano's representatives, as had Liverpool and Barcelona, before Sporting invited Manchester United to be their opponents at the inauguration of their stadium, Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Sir Alex insisted on taking a strong team to Lisbon, despite the season kicking off in less than a fortnight, though fielded a less impressive team than the travelling party suggested he might. The young Cristiano Ronaldo started the game and made life increasingly difficult for United's backline.
The Red Devils lost 3-1 but the game clearly wasn't Sir Alex's reason for flying to Portugal so close to the season's beginning - he wanted to see this talent for himself and was clearly impressed with Lisbon's number 28.