Today, we know him as one of the most recognizable human beings on planet Earth, as one of the best football players that ever lived, and as one of the biggest athletes in the history of all sports. Well, it could have been completely different, if only Cristiano Ronaldo succumbed to the pressures and bullying he went through in his early days.A book called ‘Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game’ provided the public with details from CR7’s early career when things were going far from good, especially the period when he moved 535 miles away from his home town in 1997 at just 12 years old to Sporting Lisbon academy.In extracts published by The Sun, the book claimed that Ronaldo thought about hanging up his boots before his career had even started.##NAJAVA_MECA_6798262##Ronaldo – who was born in February 1985 on the island of Madeira – felt ‘lonely and homesick’ while plying his trade; he struggled to fit in with the other kids, fellow players ‘mocked his accent and staff members locked him out of the gym’, he cried every day because he missed his family and local friends.It all led to him almost quitting football before his 13.5 million euros move to Man United in 2003, according to reports. The young starlet was said to have been involved in a series of bust-ups and scrapes with other boys in the schoolyard. Additionally, Ronaldo is said to have thrown a chair at one of his teachers after they made fun of the way he spoke. As a result of his difficulties at school, Ronaldo was allowed to quit his studies and focus solely on football. He was called up to the Sporting first team soon after.Sporting youth players doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s new celebration ❤️💚 pic.twitter.com/L12zAmwXNT— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) November 9, 2022 Speaking about his relationship with school, Ronaldo once said: ‘I always felt that I wasn’t cut out for school. So what was the point?’.Despite dropping out of school and reaching Sporting’s first team, it wasn’t until Ronaldo was sold to United for 13.5 million euros that he started to fall in love with his career. This is because Sporting prevented Ronaldo from using the gym as he pleased. Therefore, he struggled to bulk up and found himself being knocked off the ball in games. But even after that, things weren’t always perfect for Ronaldo. At United, the Portuguese superstar was involved in a training ground bust-up with Ruud van Nistelrooy shortly after he arrived and struggled to get the older players on his side. It took time and perseverance for CR7 to become the star player he is today.
