Cristiano Ronaldo - Most Expensive Player in Football History

Full name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Birthday: February 5, 1985 (age 24)

Birthplace: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Height: 1.84 m

Weight: 75kg

Nickname: Ronnie, CR, Rocket Ronaldo, CR7, C. Ronaldo

Position: Right/Left Winger

Current club: Real Madrid

Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). Besides, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world.

Early Life

Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal and grew up with a brother and two sisters. His second name (Ronaldo) is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father's favourite actor, and not for political reasons. 

He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious.   By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha, and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

First Clubs in Portugal

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Manchester United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.[citation needed]

Christiano Ronaldo at Manchester United 2003–2006

Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano was signed for a fee of £12.24 million.

Ronaldo requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour.”

2006-2009

The 2006-2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.

In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.  He was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.

He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or and was 3rd in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.

On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.  It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.

Real Madrid

Ronaldo was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July 2009, where he was handed the number 9 jersey. Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.

With the departure of Raúl in the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the number 7 jersey.

Drogba - one of best centre forwards

Name: Didier Yves Drogba Tébily

Club: Chelsea (Eng)

Position: Striker

Nationality: Ivory Coast

Date of Birth: March 11, 1978

Height: 188 cm

Strengths: Aerial prowess and power; there are few players in the world as strong.

Weaknesses: Temperament, propensity to dive and over-exaggerate tackles and confrontations.

 Style: Robust, bustling centre forward who harasses his markers. But he is excellent with the ball on the deck and a strong finisher with the ability to use both feet.

Club Career

1998-2002 : Le Mans

Undoubtedly one of the best centre forwards in the world, Drogba still manages to polarise opinion with his theatrical and temperamental style of play taking the shine off the powerful striker's incredible talent. Drogba moved from his native Ivory Coast to France in 1988, living with his uncle in order to pursue a career in football. He started his career at Dunkirk before moving to Abbeville, Levallois and Le Mans.

2002-2003 : En Avant Guingamp

But it was after a move to Guingamp that he really began to catch the attention, netting 17 goals in their 2002-03 Ligue 1 campaign before signing for Marseille.

2003-2004 : Olympique de Marseille

It was 2003 and Didier Drogba emerged rather late on the first scene of top European soccer, at age 25. Still, his appetite for goal wouldn't allow him to lay low, even though he reached a comfortable level for any footballer, Marseille being a team that would battle each year for the league and cup, as well as on the European front, in the UEFA Champions League.

The main passion for Drogba, goals, remained his primary target and he managed to score 19 times in 35 matches for Marseille, of which 5 in the UEFA Champions League group stages and another 6 in the following UEFA Cup run.

2004- Present: Chelsea

Age 26, it was the perfect setup for him to step in the light, as he got a contract offer from what is still the most important club in the career of Drogba, Chelsea London.  Chelsea and Jose Mourinho then came knocking and smashed the British transfer record for a striker, paying £24 million for his services in 2004.  

Although being helped by a tremendous performance by Drogba, Chelsea didn't manage to win the Champions League trophy, stopping in the finals, they are considered amongst the favorites each year and many, believe that only time separate Chelsea and Drogba from being crowned the kings of Europe.