Former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo could have been an Arsenal man

CRISTIANO RONALDO’S route to becoming the World Player of the Year could have taken a very different path.

GUNNER RONNY: Ronaldo could have signed for Arsenal

To start with, his journey to the top could have been via Arsenal rather than Manchester United.

But one thing wouldn’t have changed for the Real Madrid superstar – he would still have been playing the pain game.

Ronaldo, who faces the USA today in a vital match for Portugal, was set to join Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon 11 years ago.

He was actually in Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s office to discuss the £12 million move.

But United manager Sir Alex Ferguson made a direct approach to Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, to hijack the deal.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Ronaldo, 29, became an all-time Old Trafford great under Fergie’s careful mentoring, before making his dream move to Real Madrid for a then world record £80million.

At United he won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, the European Cup and a Club World Cup.

With Real, he has again won the Champions League – as he did with United – and the Ballon D’Or World Player of the Year award.

But there has been a price to pay.

He suffers from tendinitis in the knee and revealed: “Pain is a burden of my work.

“I have that but it is nothing new to me. I have pain every day and that has been the case ever since I became a footballer. You get pain from knocks, old injuries and new injuries.

“But it doesn’t stop me playing and I felt ready for the World Cup.

“I have had a knee injury but, as far as I’m concerned, I’m 100 per cent fit.”

Ronaldo, with 112 caps and a record 49 international goals under his belt, knows it is going to be tough for Portugal to qualify for the next stage after losing their opening match to Germany 4-0.

He said: “In my opinion we have the strongest group at the World Cup, so we are taking one step at a time.

“But it is with enormous pride that I am here representing Portugal as captain.

“I continue to shiver as soon as as I hear the Portuguese national anthem being played.

“And to compete in the World Cup in a brother country like Brazil always appealed to me.

“Portugal and Brazil have historical connections and both countries speak the same language.”

So Ronaldo will continue to go through the pain barrier here in Brazil.

And he knows he’ll be doing that again next season, too – and for as long as his wonderful career continues.