July 1994: A footballing superstar comes onto football’s radar.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the current Fifa World Player of the Year but will have to do something outrageously impressive, early next season, to keep that prize from Lionel Messi’s grasp.
The Portuguese star’s quest for footballing perfection began at local club CF Andorinha, in Madeira, back in 1994.
The club’s best ever achievement was a Portuguese Third Division title and their only notable player listed on Wikipedia is Ronaldo himself. He was at the club, in fact, from 1992 but competitive league football only began in 1994, hence his first ever licence.
Ronaldo moved on to Nacional at the end of the season and was snapped up by Sporting Lisbon as a 12-year-old in 1997. Manchester United signed him in 2003 and the rest is history.
Hat-tip to The Sportbible for unearthing the picture.
