Sir Alex Ferguson was of a betting persuasion long before Cristiano Ronaldo came to England's shores and Ronaldo embraced the culture with his own wagers.
Ferguson and a 19-year-old Ronaldo had a bet on him to score 10 goals in 2004-05 - his second season. Ronaldo came one short on nine, with his spot kick in the FA Cup final shootout rightly discounted.
After a progressive 12 goals in 2005-06, the stakes were raised with a £400 wager for Ronaldo to hit the 15-goal mark in 2006-07.
Ronaldo hit that mark with a penalty at Tottenham in February 2007. He ended that campaign on 23 goals and if Ferguson was brave enough to continue gambling he would have had to downsize from his Wilmslow abode.
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