The Portuguese came on as a substitute on his debut as Man Utd beat Bolton 4-0. Who were his team-mates and where are they now?

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon for £12.24 million – a record transfer fee for a teenager at that time.  

He won three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy during his first spell at Old Trafford and also won his first Ballon d'Or award while being at the club. 

Ronaldo made his debut for the club on August 16, 2003, in the Premier League opener against Bolton Wanderers. He came on as a substitute in the 61st minute of the match replacing Nicky Butt. Ryan Giggs scored a brace and Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes were on target as well as the Red Devils won the match 4-0.

But who played alongside Ronaldo in his debut match for Manchester United and where are they now?

Getty1Tim Howard – GK

The United States international goalkeeper joined Manchester United along with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003 and played at the club for three seasons before heading out on loan to Everton in the final year of his contract. In the subsequent season, he joined the Toffees on a permanent deal and spent the next nine years at the club.

He retired from professional football in 2019 after spending three seasons at MLS side Colorado Rapids. In 2020, he became a minority owner and Sporting Director of US second division side Memphis 901 FC.

AdvertisementGetty2Phil Neville – RB

The Manchester United academy product and a part of the famous Class of 92, Neville made his debut for the club in 1994 and played until 2005. The next eight seasons he spent at Everton before retiring from professional football in 2013.

After retirement, the defender worked as an assistant manager with the England U21 side and at Valencia. In 2015 he was the caretaker manager of Salford City along with Paul Scholes. Neville was also a 10 per cent stakeholder at the club. In 2018 he became the head coach of the England Women's national team. In January 2021, he joined MLS side Inter Miami as their new manager.

Getty Images3Rio Ferdinand – CB

One of the finest English central defenders of all time, Rio Ferdinand joined Manchester United in 2002 from their rivals Leeds United for a record transfer fee of £30 million at that time.

Ferdinand went on to play for 12 years at the club after which he joined Queens Park Rangers for a year in 2014 and retired from professional football in 2015.

He's working currently as a TV pundit among numerous other roles.

Getty Images4Mikael Silvestre – CB

The French defender joined Manchester United in 1999 from Inter Milan and played at the club for nine seasons. After that, he played at Arsenal, Werder Bremen, Portland Timbers and finally retired from football after playing in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) in 2014.

After retirement, he joined Ligue 1 club Rennes as their director of football but left the job in December 2016 by mutual consent.

Silvestre is currently a Director of Football with Sports Invest UK. He also a distillery business named Rhum St. Barth.