Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira, Portugal in 1985 and began playing soccer at a young age for youth teams in Madeira and later Sporting Lisbon's youth team after moving away from his family at age 12. His talent was noticed by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him from Sporting Lisbon for $20 million at a young age. Ronaldo went on to have success at Manchester United and with the Portuguese national team before moving to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of over $120 million in 2009.