Anyone who becomes the world's most expensive player has a lot to live up to, but there is little doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is worth the £80 million it cost Real Madrid to sign him from Manchester United.
The winger's fantastic natural talents developed and matured over the five seasons at United and the player is now undoubtedly one of the most exciting and potent attacking threats in world football.
The legend goes that Sir Alex Ferguson was persuaded to sign the Portuguese protégé by his own players after United had faced Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly in 2003. Whatever the truth in that story it wasn't long before the largely unknown 18-year-old arrived in Manchester with £12.24 million going the other way.
He took little time to make an impact, scoring eight times in 39 games, including the opener in the FA Cup final win over Millwall. Since then Ronaldo's route to the summit of world football has seemed practically a foregone conclusion.
He enjoyed an incredible spell at United, winning the Premiership and Champions League, becoming the first United player since George Best in 1968 to win the coveted Ballon d'Or and being voted the FIFA World Player Of The Year ahead of Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres. To cap it all he won the Club World Cup with Man United, being presented with the silver boot as top scorer in the competition.
After achieving so much at Old Trafford, he decided he needed a new challenge. accepting the offer of the number nine shirt at the Santiago Bernabeu. He has joined forces with Kaka and Xabi Alonso, ushering in a new era of Galacticos at Real Madrid. Trophies will surely follow.
To the horror of defences around the world Ronaldo only gets better. He is now a prolific goalscorer with a devastating free-kick and an extensive box of tricks. He is a natural born winner with a deep passion for the game and is well on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.