The Portuguese and Lionel Pontes, coach of the Sporting CP Academy, once again recalled how the episode was in which the star left Madeira and arrived in Lisbon.
Having won the Ballon d’Or five times, Euro 2016 with Portugal and the champion of several titles throughout his football career, Cristiano Ronaldo continues, in the final phase of his career, to be one of the greatest stars of the beautiful game.
Now at Manchester United, after his victories at Juventus and Real Madrid, the Portuguese footballer set out on a new journey in the world of football with Sporting Lisbon, which he joined at a very young age.
It was the Lisbon crew who made up the legend, but nothing came easy for the Madeira, who had one of his worst moments when he had to leave his home to fly to the capital.
My family was saying goodbye to me. They were wearing sunglasses, but I saw tears flowing. I went with this picture on the plane. It was the hardest moment of my career. Of course, I criedCristiano Ronaldo commented in a video published by the Portugal national team “taste”.
However, one of the heroes of this story was Lionel Pontes, at that time a technical at the Academy of the Lisbon Foundation, who also remembered how the name of the Portuguese star reached his ears.
“In 1997 they told us there was a high-quality boy in Madeira. He was different from the others. Individuality with competitive personality. It is hard to find a boy with such talent, emotional control and leadership that he had.”did he say.
“Earlier, he thought about his body, improving his stroke…”said Pontes who went to him, and despite the fact that Cristiano did not play this duel, he managed to give him the ball in the previous match, and here the Portuguese showed his skills.
We have to sign.the coach thought at that moment. “This is where my journey began. When I left my family in Madeira, it was the hardest thing in my career.”Ronaldo, who is currently considered one of the best footballers in the history of football, concluded.