SO DOES CHRISTIANO RONALDO

Last updated : 13 August 2003 By Editor
The club’s statement:

Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has
completed the transfer of the registration of Christiano
Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro from Sporting Lisbon for a total
consideration, including associated costs, of €17.35m
(£12.24m). The fee is payable over two years, and the player
has signed a five-year contract with the club.

Christiano Ronaldo said: “I am very happy to be signing for
the best team in the world, and especially proud to be the
first Portuguese player to join Manchester United. I look
forward to helping the team achieve even more success in the
years to come.”

Sir Alex Ferguson, said: “We have been negotiating for
Christiano for quite some time, but the interest in him from
other clubs accelerated in the last few weeks so we had to
move quickly to get him. It was only through our association
with Sporting that they honoured our agreement of months
ago. He is an extremely talented footballer, a two-footed
attacker who can play anywhere up front: right, left or
through the middle. After we played Sporting last week the
lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and
on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him –
that’s how highly they rated him. He is one of the most
exciting young players I’ve ever seen.”

Ronaldo factfile:

Born, 5 February, 1985, Madeira, Portugal.
Height: 184cm
Weight: 75kg
Position: Striker
Previous club: Sporting Lisbon
International honours: Portugal U15, 16 & 17 international
caps