In the last two years, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has become a global superstar. He has won two English Premier League titles, the Champions League and won numerous individual honors whilst playing for Manchester United. The Euro 2008 Championships represents an opportunity for the 23 year old to enhance his reputation on the international stage with Portugal.

Primarily, Ronaldo is a right winger whose technical skills, close ball control and dribbling makes him one of the most gifted footballers of his generation. As he has developed he has matured also in to a powerful, strong athlete whose attributes seem to get better each season. His ability to arrive late in the box and his eye for a goal are parts of his game that he has greater improved upon in recent seasons.

Ronaldo began his professional career at Sporting Lisbon where he rose through the youth teams. In a pre-season friendly in 2003, Ronaldo played against Manchester United. His performance is said to have impressed the United players so much that they pleaded with Coach Sir Alex Ferguson to sign the young winger.

Following David Beckham’s transfer to Real Madrid a year later, Ronaldo signed for £12.25 million.

After a slow start to his career in England when he was accused of showboating instead of working for the team, Ronaldo has become an essential element of the Manchester United team. He has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Premier League in 2007 and 2008 and the Champions League.

Ronaldo’s goalscoring record has become a phenomenon in itself.  Ferguson famously bet with Ronaldo in 2006 that he would not score more than 15 goals in a season and since then he has broke the record for the most goals scored in a season and equalled Alan Shearer’s record for the most goals scored in a season (31 goals).

Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003 as a substitute against Kazakhstan. He has been a regular ever since and even captained the team in 2007 after a request by the head of the Portuguese Football Association prior to his death. He has made 55 appearances for the national team scoring 20 goals.

In recent weeks there has been intense speculation that Ronaldo may be about to leave Manchester United. Real Madrid have made no secret of their desire to sign the player and should he transfer is club form to the international stage their desire is likely to grow stronger over the course of Euro 2008.