Cristiano Ronaldo and Peyroteo: seperated by generations, but both immortal on the football pitch

On the 26th of June 1937, an eager 19-year old named Fernando Peyroteo arrived in Lisbon. He had been playing for Sporting de Luanda, but made the trip to Lisbon from Angola to accompany his mother, who was struggling with health problems. In the Portuguese capital, Aníbal Paciência, a friend of Peyroteo's from Angola, invited him join Sporting and he never looked back, despite FC Porto offering him considerably more money.

Cristiano Ronaldo's path was a little different. He arrived in Lisbon from Madeira at the age of just 12, after being invited to for trails at the Sporting Academy. "After five minutes he was already on first name terms with everyone and was telling people to pass hi mthe ball. That isn't normal. We knew we had to sign him straight away, he just had to join us", commented Aurélio Pereira in a recent interview with the Observador.

The stories of the two Alvalade heroes are now, of course, the stuff of legends. Both have a unique ability for finding the back of the yet, with Peyroteo still the best scorer in Portuguese history, with an average of 1.62 goals per game over the 541 matches played for Sporting. Cristiano Ronaldo played just 31 senior games for Sporting, but he captured the world's hearts with Manchester United and Real Madrid, where he has won the European Golden Boot on four occasions.

Split by so many decades, it is difficult to compare the two. Peyroteo reigned over Portugal's pitches in the 30's and 40's, before European competitions even existed, while Cristiano Ronaldo has spread his magic across Europe. One thing is for sure, both players have absolutely dominated their respective generations of footballers and become true idols of the game... for everyone except goalkeepers of course