Cristiano Ronaldo made Real Madrid debut vs Shamrock Rovers – and got clattered

Cristiano Ronaldo's spell at Real Madrid was arguably the best of his career – the Portuguese megastar firmly cemented himself as one of the greats of the beautiful game.

But after all the glitz and glam of the transfer and unveiling, Ronaldo made his debut in an under-the-radar friendly against Shamrock Rovers. Ronaldo – who was then CR9, which doesn't have the same ring to it, took to Tallaght Stadium.

However, it was hardly the dream start for Ronaldo, who minutes into donning the famous white was clattered by Shamrock Rovers defender Pat Flynn.

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"They arrived in this really glamorous team bus. I work for Coca-Cola, so it was quite a picture, me parking up next to them in my van," Flynn told BBC Sport.

"People were talking up the idea of me against him, and me as some kind of hard man. I'm not even sure if that is true or not," he added with a chuckle.

"But I played right-back and he was right-wing, on the opposite side. He came inside and took three of our players out of the game. He got to me, the ball was there to be won. I took it and him with it; it was a great tackle and feeling. He just looked and thought, 'What just happened?'"

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Unbelievably, Shamrock Rovers held Los Blancos right up until the 88th minute.

However, by the time the clock had ticked over to that number neither Flynn nor Ronaldo were still on the pitch. Flynn had been hooked at half-time for Derek Tracey, while Ronaldo made way for legendary frontman Raul.

It was another new signing that secured a 1-0 win for Real, when Karim Benzema, freshly off the back from his arrival from Lyon, found the net.

Ronaldo's official debut came a couple of months later against Deportivo La Coruna in the La Liga's opening clash. The former Manchester United star bagged from the spot as Los Blancos ran out 3-2 winners.

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