Nowadays Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction - his face is plastered across billboards and television adverts around the world.

But there was a time when the Portuguese, who moved to Manchester United from boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, was almost practically a nobody.

At the age of 15, a young Ronaldo underwent surgery after being diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition which could have forced him to give up his dreams of playing football.    

But in 2002 he made a full recovery and it wasn't long before he was promoted from the youth team by former manager Laszlo Boloni, who was impressed with his dribbling.

Fast forward a year later and Sir Alex Ferguson forked out £12million for 'one of the most exciting young players' he had ever seen. 

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The rest, as they say, is history.

A viral video, which was recently posted by Twitter user @TheFergusonWay celebrating arguably the greatest player in their club's history, shows Ronaldo's early days at Old Trafford. 

And the compilation clip really does put into perspective just how good Ronaldo was at such a young age as he soon got to grips with the rigorous demands of playing in the Premier League.

Showing off his incredible speed, which has only started to wane as he has got older, the fleet-footed right midfielder is seen leaving players for dust trailing in his wake.

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His grit and determination is there for all to see as he effortlessly rides desperate lunging tackles which would have left lesser men rolling around on the floor clutching their ankles.

As well as his ability to go past people with ease, Ronaldo also demonstrates an unwavering will to win by often at times dropping deep out of position to win back possession of the ball for his team despite still being a scrawny youngster.

His skills also see him sit down Ashley Cole at one point, while his vision allows him to produce an inch-perfect cross to help his team score a great goal. 

Just sit back, relax and enjoy. 

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