Cristiano Ronaldo's first transfer fee was 20 footballs and 2 sets of team kits

A young Cristiano Ronaldo made his first football transfer at the tender age of 10

A FIFPro case study on Cristiano Ronaldo, revealed that the fee Nacional paid for the player when he turned 10 years old was a meagre 20 footballs and two sets of team kits. The modest sum was pocketed by Cristiano’s first club Andorinha who currently ply their trade in the Terceira Divisao Série Madeira which is the fifth tier of Portuguese Football.

Cristiano has played an integral part in shaping Nacional’s history. The club have a big rivalry with Madeira neighbours Maritimo with whom they contest the heated Madeira Derby. It is believed that the rivalry heightened when a young Ronaldo declined an offer from Marítimo in favour of Nacional, where his godfather was a member of the board.

Nacional who finished 7th in the Primeira Liga last season have also built an academy campus in name of Cristiano Ronaldo in a bid to honour their former player.

In what was one of the shrewdest piece of business in football history, Nacional multiplied their outlay when they sold Cristiano to Sporting Clube de Portugal for €22,500 in 1997.

Ronaldo joined Sporting's youth setup and trained at the Academia Sporting in Alcochete and became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team within one season. He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002 and also featured for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.

In 2003, Ronaldo gave an impressive account of himself in a friendly game against Manchester United which prompted manager Sir Alex Ferguson to take note of the Madeira native. United's players were in awe of Cristiano’s performances and on the flight back from the game, the players urged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign the talented youngster. Labelling Ronaldo as one of the most exciting young players he had ever seen, the Scottish gaffer shelled out €11.6 million for his services and entrusted him with the legendary No 7 shirt.

Ronaldo later revealed that he had requested his earlier number from Sporting (28) on arrival at the English club, because he was unsure of justifying the expectations linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by United legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.

Cristiano went on to win 3 Premier Leagues and an UEFA Champions League in the famous red of United and his performances prompted Real Madrid to fetch his signature in the summer of 2009 for a whopping €94 million. From the slums of Madeira to becoming the current King of the Bernabeu, the player’s valuation has indeed seen a meteoric rise.