Top 10 Sporting CP academy graduates of all time 

2. Luis Figo

One of Portugal's finest ever players

The leader of Portugal's first golden era and one of the best players of his generation, Luis Figo is one of the two Ballon d'Or winners to have been produced by Sporting CP. Signed at the age of 12, Figo spent five years in the academy before making his debut in 1990.

The winger made 169 appearances, scoring 20 times for the Portuguese side before making a big-money move to Barcelona in 1995. He endured the wrath of the Blaugrana faithful when he made the controversial move to Real Madrid in 2000.

Figo went onto spent five seasons at the Bernabeu before moving to Inter Milan where he hung up his boots in 2009.

---

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

One of the greatest to have ever played the game

Thethe boy from Madeira joined Sporting CP at the age after the club signed him from Nacional for a fee of just £1,500. Almost 23 years later, Cristiano Ronaldo finds himself as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world with many even considering him to be the greatest ever to have played the game.

Ronaldo made his senior debut in the 2002-03 season as a 17-year old. It remains the only season he spent with the Portuguese giants as the following year saw him moving to Manchester United after impressing Sir Alex Ferguson during a friendly against his side. The rest, as they say, is history.

A winger who later converted into a clinical striker and arguably one of the greatest athletes to ever play the sport, Cristiano Ronaldo has won countless number of individual trophies including 5 Ballon d'Ors. He is also one of nine players to have won the Champions League 5 times. Now at the age of 35, he doesn't appear to be showing any signs of slowing down after scoring in his last 10 consecutive matches for Juventus.