Ronaldo club carrier: part 3

2007–08: Collective and individual success



Ronaldo during a game in the 2006–07 Premier League season

At the quarter-final stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo scored his first-ever goals in his 30th match in the competition,[66] finding the net twice in a 7–1 victory over Roma.[67] He subsequently scored four minutes into the first semi-final leg against Milan, which ended in a 3–2 win,[68] but was marked out of the second leg as United lost 3–0 at the San Siro.[69] He also helped United reach the FA Cup final, but the decisive match against Chelsea ended in a 1–0 defeat.[70] Ronaldo scored the only goal in the Manchester derby on 5 May 2007 (his 50th goal for the club), as Manchester United claimed their first Premier League title in four years.[71] As a result of his performances, he amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the Professional Footballers' Association's Player's Player, Fans' Player, and Young Player of the Year awards, as well as the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award,[72][73] becoming the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA honours.[74] His club wages were concurrently upgraded to £120,000 a week (£31 million total) as part of a five-year contract extension with United.[75] At the end of 2007, Ronaldo was named runner-up to Kaká for the Ballon d'Or,[76] and came third, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi, in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.[77]

Ronaldo scored his first and only hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United on 12 January 2008, bringing United up to the top of the Premier League table.[78] A month later, on 19 March, he captained United for the first time in a home win over Bolton, and scored both goals of the match.[79] His second goal was his 33rd of the campaign, which bettered George Best's total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season, thus setting the club's new single-season record by a midfielder.[80] His 31 league goals earned him the Premier League Golden Boot,[81] as well as the European Golden Shoe, which made him the first winger to win the latter award.[82] He additionally received the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards for the second consecutive season.[83][84]

In the knockout stage of the Champions League, Ronaldo scored the decisive goal against Lyon, which helped United advance to the quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate,[85] and, while playing as a striker, scored with a header in the 3–0 aggregate victory over Roma.[86] United advanced to the final against Chelsea in Moscow, where, despite his opening goal being negated by an equaliser and his penalty being saved in the shoot-out,[87] Manchester United emerged victorious.[88] As the Champions League top scorer, Ronaldo was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.[89]

Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific campaign during his time in England. He missed three matches after headbutting a Portsmouth player at the start of the season, an experience he said taught him not to let opponents provoke him.[90] As rumours circulated of Ronaldo's interest in moving to Real Madrid, United filed a tampering complaint with governing body FIFA over Madrid's alleged pursuit of their player, but they declined to take action.[91] FIFA president Sepp Blatter asserted that the player should be allowed to leave his club, describing the situation as "modern slavery".[92] Despite Ronaldo publicly agreeing with Blatter,[93] he remained at United for another year.[94]