As you know Icons has a long-standing relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. We did our first signing with the Portuguese superstar in 2005 when he was only 20 and had just arrived in Manchester. His years with Manchester United were especially successful for him, the team and for Icons as his worldwide popularity grew to almost unprecedented levels.

When he moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 as the world's most expensive ever footballer, Icons were the first and only people to secure a Madrid signing with Cristiano. Since then Cristiano has gone on to establish himself as the greatest goalscorer in world football today, averaging 6 league goals for ever 5 games he's played in over the past two seasons.

This season he has already scored 6 hat tricks and Icons undertook their second Madrid signing with him in February this year. With Real Madrid 10 points clear in La Liga at this moment in time, surely more silverware and accolades are coming his way. Coming into his prime at only 27, and with the Champions League and European Championships to look forward too, where he is the captain of his national team, it seems that this year is destined to be a monumental one for the 2008 World Footballer of the Year.

Check out below some of the photos of Ronaldo signing throughout the past seven years with Icons. Icons are proud to have an on-going long-term relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, we've seen him grow from his early United days into the global superstar he is today, and this trusting relationship means he only signs for Icons, and no-one else, whatever their websites may say

To view the full Cristiano Ronaldo Icons range click here

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer arrived at Manchester United in July 1996 an unknown quantity. In a summer where Newcastle United paid Blackburn Rovers a world record £15m for Alan Shearer, the acquisition of a £1.5m 23-year-old striker from Norway went largely unnoticed.

It didn't take him long to emerge from the shadows though.

In fact it only took him a few minutes. Solskjaer bagged his first goal for United six minutes after coming off the bench on his debut against Blackburn. He went on to build a reputation as Sir Alex's "super-sub" for his remarkable ability to score crucial goals late in games after coming off the bench, and in his first season he didn't waste any time in establishing himself as a key member of the first team squad. Capitalizing on Andy Cole's absence through injury, he finished the 1996/97 campaign with 18 Premier League goals, helping United win the title in the last few weeks of the season.

Nicknamed the "Baby-Faced Assasin" by the British media for his boyish looks and deadly finishing ability, Solskjaer went on to score 126 goals in 366 appearances for the Red Devils over the course of 11 seasons.

Solskjaer is a legend at Old Trafford, and won the affection of the United faithful not just through his important goals, but through a selfless attitude that always put the team above personal glory. This was highlighted by a defining moment in a match against Newcastle in 1998. With scores level at 1-1, United needed at least a draw to keep pace with Premier League leaders Arsenal in the title race. Newcastle's Rob Lee had broken free of the United defence when Solskjaer, knowing his side simply couldn’t afford to lose, came haring back to commit a professional foul and stop Lee from scoring. Solskjaer knew a red card and a hefty suspension would follow, but made the sacrifice without hesitation to keep their title hopes alive.

Solskjaer's greatest moment in a Manchester United shirt, however, came in their legendary Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich in 1999. Typically, this was a match in which Solskjaer only emerged from the bench in the 80^th minute. Trailing 1-0 in injury time, Teddy Sheringham equalised before Solskjaer scored the winning goal right at the death to cap a remarkable comeback. David Beckham's corner was flicked to the far post by Sheringham, where Solskjaer stuck out a leg to toe poke the ball into the roof of Oliver Kahn's net. It remains one of the most iconic moments in the club's history, and crowned a famous League, FA Cup and Champions League treble.

Sir Alex often praised Solskjaer's outstanding ability to study a game from the bench and know exactly how to hurt the opposition when he got his chance. In 1998 he scored four goals in 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute in United's 8-1 victory over Nottingham Forest. He repeated that feat against Everton the following year.

For the 2000/01 season Solskjaer was paired with Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as he finally got a chance as a regular starter. He took the opportunity with aplomb, bagging 25 goals in what was his highest-scoring season for the club. Unfortunately Solskjaer's contribution over the seasons that followed began to wane due to a persistent knee injury, and on 27^th August 2007 he announced his retirement from playing and joined the United coaching staff.

Solskjaer, who, with 28, holds the record for the most goals scored for Manchester United as a substitute, is now manager of Norwegian club Molde, where he played before joining United. His success has seen him linked with the managerial position at Blackburn, but at just 38, he might be holding out for something bigger. Successor to Sir Alex? A touch optimistic, perhaps, but if there's one man capable of springing a surprise; it's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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Check out our signed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer products here, including a brilliant photo of THAT Champions League-winning goal.

With grace and skill in abundance, Glenn Hoddle was a wonderfully gifted playmaker and, in many ways, an atypical English midfielder. Icons Legend of the Week #13 was an inspiration to a generation of players for whom technique was more important than the ability to run all day.

Voted Tottenham Hotspur's greatest player of all time, Hoddle was a sublime passer and a beautiful player to watch. After 12 glowing years, close to 500 appearances and 88 league goals for Spurs he moved for a spell at French side Monaco, before becoming player-manager at Swindon Town and later Chelsea. He hung up his boots in 1995 and went on to become England manager in 1996.

Hoddle joined Spurs as a schoolboy apprentice in April 1974 following a recommendation from another Spurs legend, Martin Chivers. He made his first team debut as a 17-year-old, coming off the bench against Norwich City in August 1875, but it wasn't until February 1976 that he made his first start in the First Division. He announced his arrival in sensational style, beating Stoke and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton with an outstanding long-range effort.

The 1979/80 season heralded Hoddle's emergence as a truly top-class player. With 19 goals in 41 league games he was deservedly named PFA Young Player of the Year. His breathtaking skill, vision and eye for the spectacular were at odds with the traditional British philosophy of tireless running and gutsy determination, but in Hoddle Spurs had unearthed a gem. Equally adept with both feet, as a youngster, Hoddle was used in the centre of midfield and on the wing. He went on to make the central birth his own.

Hoddle was the midfield fulcrum and creative hub of Spurs' great side of the 1980s. In 1981 he starred in Spurs sixth FA Cup win, scoring in the Final and in the Final replay against Manchester City. The following year Spurs retained the FA Cup with victory over Queens Park Rangers and secured 4^th place, their highest league finish since 1971. Two years later, Hoddle was the driving force behind Spurs' 1984 UEFA Cup triumph, despite missing the final due to injury. He put in a particularly memorable performance in their 6-2 Second Round aggregate win against a Feyenoord side featuring Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. Cruyff was so impressed by Hoddle's showing that he went into the Spurs dressing room at White Hart Lane to offer him his shirt after the match.

By this time Hoddle was already an established England international, and before his move to Monaco in 1987 he had already won 44 caps and featured prominently in the World Cups and European Championships of the 1980s. In total he won 53 caps and scored eight goals during an international career that lasted until 1988.

Then Monaco manager Arsene Wenger was the man who took Hoddle across the channel to France. Ironically, the two would come up against each other in the North London derby as managers of Spurs and Arsenal some years later. Hoddle scored 27 goals in 69 Ligue 1 games for Monaco. He inspired them to a title-win in his first season and was voted the Best Foreign Player in French Football. His exploits with Monaco helped to significantly improve the standing of English players in foreign countries.

Hoddle has found himself at the centre of stormy controversies on occasion, and as a manager he never enjoyed the greatest success. But putting all that aside, his on-pitch achievements at Tottenham and Monaco demand not to be forgotten. Hoddle was the most technically gifted English player of his generation, and his exciting and attractive style made him a rare breed. At a time when Fabio Capello's England are being left behind by a supremely technical Spain side, they could use a few more players like Glenn Hoddle. 

 

As their paths crossed in the Anfield players' car park, Fernando Torres would have been forgiven if he'd gone a little green in the face. For here was his heir apparent bouncing in the door, brimming with confidence; whilst he was to trundle down the M6, a shadow of his former self.

Luis Suarez had big boots to fill. Torres had built a reputation as one of the finest strikers to have worn the Liverpool red: the complete forward. But in recent years, injuries niggled. El Nino looked sullen and detached and for the first time, his attitude was questioned by the Kop.

Fast forward six months and most of the Liverpool fans agree that Henry, Dalglish et al operated shrewdly. Suarez has delighted Kopites with a series of dazzling performance, a tenacity and commitment their forward line had been sorely lacking and a huge injection of South American flair. Whilst he's got a long way to go before he shakes the Kop, the early signs are good.

Before joining Liverpool in the January transfer window of 2011, Suarez's signature was much sought after across the continent. He made his name in the Eredivise in Holland, first with Groningen and then Ajax.

At the Amsterdam Arena, he blossomed into one of the most prolific strikers in Europe. In his third season with the club, he notched an incredible 45 goals in 44 games. He joined the illustrious company of Bergkamp, Cruyff and Van Basten in being scoring over 100 goals for the club and continued in exhilarating fashion for his national side. 

But ironically for someone with such a keen eye for goal, Suarez is not an out an out striker. During the 2010 World Cup, Suarez starred for an impressive Uruguay side that surprised many by making it to the semi final, but he did so as a cog in a triumvirate with Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan. Cavani led the line, with Suarez and Forlan dropping back to support the midfield, creating as many as they scored.

Indeed, Suarez embodied the combination of hard work, quick thinking and élan that Oscar Tabarez instilled in the side. With Uruguay stuttering in this year's Copa America, it was Suarez who stepped up to the plate, firing them through first the Group Stage and then the semi final. Having been cast as the pantomime villian following his goal-line handball in last year's World Cup Semi Final, Suarez is now being heralded for the guts and winning attitude that drove him to bend the rules.

Liverpool fans will have been watching his performances at the Copa America with great interest. In his short spell with the club, Luis Suarez has been hugely impressive, but his partnership with Andy Carroll has yet to ignite.

Carroll has spent the majority of his Liverpool career on the sidelines, injured. The pair are seen as the figureheads of the Dalglish revolution: young, dynamic, exciting. With the squad undergoing a substantial makeover in the summer, fans will be looking to the pair to quickly repay their large transfer fees.

It's an exciting time to be a Liverpool fan and nobody personifies the buzz about Anfield better than Luis Suarez.

For a country that only played its first World Cup qualifier in 2000 and is perhaps best known in these parts as the home of Timbuktu, the list of footballers from Mali (or of Malian descent) is long and surprisingly impressive.

The current squad is bolstered by the presence of Momo Sissoko (Juventus), Seydou Keita (Barcelona) and Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid). French football legend and former Fulham manager Jean Tigana was born in the capital city, Bamako and Salif Keita, formerly of Valencia, Marseille and Saint Etienne, is considered to be one of the greatest African players of all time.

But their most celebrated son of the modern era was born to Malian parents in Lyon, in the south of France. Despite representing France at youth levels, though, there can be no doubting which nation Frédéric Kanouté considers home. He opted to turn out for Mali rather than France in 2004, going on to top score in that year's African Cup of Nations.

His goalscoring record for the national side was better than one in two (meeting the Football Ramble's golden ratio for a top striker), but it's Kanouté's club career in England and Spain for which he'll be best remembered.

His spell with hometown club Lyon was relatively forgettable, but earned him an initial loan spell in London with West Ham which then manager Harry Redknapp quickly made permanent.

As they watched Carlton Cole and Franck Nouble lumbering about up top last season, Hammers fans must've been yearning for the days when Kanouté partnered Paolo Di Canio at the Boleyn Ground. But nostalgia can be misleading. Despite Kanouté consistently finding the back of the net, he was unable to stop his side slipping out of the top flight.

Frédi jumped ship for Tottenham, where he joined fellow recruits Helder Postiga, Robbie Keane and Bobby Zamora as part of a new look strikeforce at White Hart Lane. Only he and Keane could be considered successes, though. His return for Spurs was solid, but his lackadaisical stylings were often construed as laziness.

His decision to attend the African Nations Cup in 2004, earned the ire of the Spurs faithful, too, who berated him with the chant "you're French, and you know you are." It was the beginning of the end for Kanouté in England. His form dipped and just as his career looked to be on the slide, his finest performances were yet to come.

A move to Spain rejuvenated Kanouté. With Sevilla, he has hit double figures in all but his début season at the club (2005-06) and established himself as one of the most consistent strikers in La Liga. 

He was a member of Juande Ramos' double UEFA Cup winning squad and has hit well over a century of goals for the Andalusians. As he reaches the twilight of his career, a move to the Middle East has been mooted (which would certainly make sense on a personal level), but Sevilla have publicly stated their desire to keep hold of their man.

Kanouté is a devout Muslim. He hit the headlines when he refused to don the Sevilla shirt because of their sponsorship deal with a betting firm. He regularly takes time out of training to pray and donated £700,000 of his own money to buy a mosque in Sevilla.

As a representative of the Islamic community, an ambassador for African football and a striker who has scored goals at the top level in three countries for almost 15 years, Frédéric Kanouté is Icons' first forward for Friday.

We're delighted to add Kanouté products to our collection for the first time this week, you can view them here.

Luis Suarez's impact at Anfield is already substantial: a debut goal inside 16 minutes, a classic turn to set up a goal against West Ham, a now legendary dribble round the entire Manchester United defence and a cracker against Sunderland at the weekend. Not only that but his arrival on Merseyside seems to have lifted the team and all the supporters as they look forward to a brighter future. This all adds up to an impressive start by the livewire Uruguayan.

Icons is always the first to bring you signed products by the world's greatest players, and it's now time to add Luis to that list. He's sure to be a fans' favourite at Liverpool for years to come, so get yourself a piece of Suarez signed memorabilia today and you can say you were first to spot an icon in the making.

Great news from Anfield yesterday that Fernando Torres had publically declared his intention to stay at Liverpool. In his own words, "I feel the fans love me and everyone knows I am really happy here and really happy to play at Anfield. I'm looking forward to starting the season."

 

At icons, we love Fernando Torres too. Fernando Torres signed Liverpool shirt is the best selling product on icons.com, and it was revealed by the Premier League yesterday that Liverpool shirts with his name on the back is the best selling shirt in the world. We know he appeals not just to fans of Liverpool but to all true football fans across the globe who constantly ask us about his products.

Not only is Torres probably the most exciting player in the Premier League, off the pitch, he is always fantastic to deal with in person as well. A true icon of the game.

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