A club-by-club look at Cristiano Ronaldo's career ahead of the start of the Portugal superstar's time in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr:
SPORTING (2002-03)
At the age of 12, Ronaldo left the island of Madeira and headed to Lisbon for a trial at Sporting. He joined the club's academy and by age 16 was training with the first team. Ronaldo, a skinny, skillful winger, made his senior debut at 17 and was already earning admiring glances from big European clubs during his only full season at Sporting (2002-03), when he scored five goals and had five assists. The following preseason, Manchester United visited Sporting for a match to inaugurate the Portuguese team's stadium. Ronaldo's performance was so good — he tormented right back John O'Shea — that United's players urged their manager, Alex Ferguson, to sign him. Ronaldo was even introduced to United's players in the locker room after the game. Within a week, he had signed for United for 12.25 million pounds (now $14.75 million).
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