When Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Real Madrid for a world record-shattering £80 million in 2009, it cemented his position as one of the best players of his era.

This is the story of the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, the first Premier League player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year, and winnter of the 2010–2011 Golden Shoe.

Luca Caioli is a renowned Italian sports journalist who crafted his reputation at ITV in Britain and as chief editor of Euronews TV in France. He settled in Spain five years ago where he is a correspondent for SKY Italia.