When Cristiano Ronaldo Was Brutally Welcomed to The Premier League by Wayne Rooney in 2003

• One of Cristiano Ronaldo’s first tastes of how tough the Premier League could be was against Wayne Rooney
• The two met when Rooney was an Everton player in 2003, while Ronaldo was still getting used to life as a Manchester United player
• Back in the day, Ronaldo played as a winger and was known for his showboating skills

Cristiano Ronaldo’s first encounter against Wayne Rooney was one to remember all the way back in 2003.

Ronaldo, now 37, is loved by a new generation of football fans who have somehow also had the priviledge of seeing the forward engage in some magical moments in the last few seasons.

But veteran football fans will remember the young Cristiano from 2003 who was clueless, and naïve, but very hungry for success.

So hungry, in fact, that he made the famous switch from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United in 2003 with high expectations.

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Back then, no one really knew Ronaldo and he was only really popular as one of the promising rising stars at the time.

As far as his performances on the pitch go, Ronaldo was developing a reputation of being a highly skilled winger, who was not afraid of taking anyone on in a one-on-one situation.

In his armoury was flamboyant stepovers, chops and the classic ‘elastico’, all synonymous with Brazilian footballers.

Onefootball recalls that Ronaldo at the time, who was only 18, had to learn the hard way that those skills were not to be used on anyone.

Rooney completely buries Ronaldo with a brutal tackle

In 2003, Ronaldo came up against 18-year-old Rooney in a fierce clash involving Everton and Manchester United.

The Red Devils were leading 2-1 at the time, and Ronaldo received the ball near the touchline. He decided it was the perfect time to unleash some of his teasing skills.

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While producing a few foot rolls on the ball, Ronaldo was stopped in his tracks by Rooney, who was having none of the fancy tricks, and the England international lunged in, catching the winger high up on the leg.

Here is a video of the incident shared by Best of Football on Twitter

It still remains a mystery how Rooney was not sent off for that tackle by Mike Dean.

Cristiano sets new record with goal vs Sheriff

On Thursday, October 27, Sports Brief reported on Ronaldo’s new record after his strike against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.

His goal, which came 10 minutes from full time was his 15th goal in this calendar year

It was also his first goal at Old Trafford this season as the celebrated striker continues to endure a difficult season under Erik ten Hag.