Real Madrid 2009–10 season

On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€93.9 million) becoming the most expensive footballer in history,^[70] after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.^[71] Ronaldo's contract is worth €11 million per year^[4] and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.^[72] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,^[73] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.^[74] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano.^[75] Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.^[76][77] The event was broadcasted live on the Spanish and Portuguese public TV stations, RTVE and RTP respectively.[7week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over LDU Quito.^[80] On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña.^[81] On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real.^[82] He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.^[83]
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary,^[84] kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.^[85] He was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. On 5 May 2010 Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.^[86]