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Sporting Club de Portugal (1997-2003)

At the age of 11, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Lisbon, having been noticed by Sporting Clube de Portugal. He passed a successful detection there and was recruited by the club “We organized a test match and as soon as the match started, Ronaldo had the ball. He was going to pass two players, three players, Osvaldo Silva and I said to ourselves: he really has something exceptional,” said Paulo Cardoso, his first coach at Sporting. His athletic performances are then excellent, but his behavior becomes problematic, no longer able to bear living far from his family and his native island. He will go so far as to throw a chair at one of his professors, who made fun of his Madeiran accent and his family's financial situation. His behavior later improves when his mother quits her job as a cook in Madeira to move in with him. He then plays for all age categories of the club. Thanks to his quality of play, he frequently plays against players one or two years older than him. At fifteen, because of a heart problem, he underwent heart surgery, which did not prevent him from quickly returning to the field. It was at the age of sixteen that he was spotted by László Bölöni, at the time coach of the Sporting Clube de Portugal first team, who made him play a few friendly matches with the professional team. From then on, he interested Liverpool, who spotted him in an international tournament, the Mondial des Minimes de Montaigu (Vendée), but the club still found him too young. He also attracts the attention of Lyon but the French club refuses a possible exchange with Tony Vairelles. He made his debut in the Portuguese league on September 29, 2002 with Sporting Clube de Portugal aged seventeen against Moreirense in a match where he scored twice. During the 2002-2003 season, he played 25 matches and scored three league goals. He also scored two goals in three Portuguese Cup games and made his Champions League debut against Inter Milan. A complete and versatile player, he is able to play in all midfield positions, and impresses with his technical qualities. László Bölöni says about him: “The good god gave him everything. If he knows how to remain modest like Luís Figo, he can become the greatest Portuguese player of all time”. The young Lusitanian caught the attention of AC Milan and was introduced by his agent Jorge Mendes to FC Barcelona, ​​​​but the Catalan club found the amount of his transfer too high. During the inauguration of Sporting's new stadium, the José Alvalade XXI stadium, his team faces Manchester United, where Cristiano makes a remarkable match that will change his career...