After 50,000 turned out for the presentation of Brazilian playmaker Kaka last week, the club faithful began converging on the stadium around lunchtime to welcome the Portuguese international.
The huge arena in the centre of the Spanish capital again reverberated to the beat of rock music as a selection of Ronaldo's goals were replayed on a giant screen in the centre of the pitch.
Shortly after 9pm local time, the World Player of the Year emerged to a rapturous reception and was welcomed on stage by club legend Alfredo di Stefano, compatriot Eusebio and club president Florentino Perez.
After three long years of waiting, Madrid have their man, and their man has Madrid. “This is my new home,” he said. As if the six-year £200,000-a-week contract was not greeting enough, he has the sight of a stadium genuflecting in his image to greet him.
“I am very happy to be here,” Ronaldo, clad in Real's all-white strip and his new number nine shirt, told fans.
“A childhood dream has come true for me, to come to Real Madrid. It's incredible that the stadium is full just for me,” he added, before showing off his skills with the ball and greeting fans around the stadium.
He also took the opportunity to pay respect to the fans: "I didn't expect a jam-packed stadium. This is truly impressive."
Ronaldo, who will wear the number nine shirt for the club, is the third player to be unveiled by Madrid since Florentino Perez became President of the club at the beginning of June, following in the footsteps of Kaka and Raul Albiol.
The attendance for Ronaldo at the Bernabeu is believed to be the biggest turn-out for an unveiling since an estimated 75,000 saw the arrival of Diego Maradona at Napoli from Barcelona in 1984.
The world’s most expensive player at £80 million admitted his ambition is to once again win the Champions League trophy he claimed with Manchester United and will be doing everything he can to achieve it.
But Ronaldo does not see himself as the only one capable of turning the club’s fate around insisting he is “not the only one that plays.”
He said: “In the games there are many players. I will be part of the team and I will give my best to win the Champions League. We have a great team and a great coach [Manuel Pellegrini]. We are going to take it step by step, taking it calmly, and then we can think about winning the Champions League. We have a decent chance, but we need to take it slow and work hard.”
Ronaldo played a key role in helping United reach two consecutive Champions league finals and has confidence in his ability to adapt in order to help Real achieve more European success.
“I know I’ll feel more pressure here than at Manchester United, but I have faith in myself and I’m ambitious. I want the league to begin so I can do my absolute best,” he added.
“I expect a different league of course. I played six years in the Premier League and it’s very difficult. It’s faster and players are stronger. It’s very competitive here as well. I think I’m ready for the challenge. I eat well, sleep well, drink well. It’s not a problem, I’m ready for La Liga.
“I hope I can give some problems to defenders, and I think it will be interesting.”
Cristiano Ronaldo also has to face the challenge of dealing with Spain's voracious press despite his stated desire to lead a "quiet" life in Spain and focus on winning titles.
"I'm going to watch TV at home, quiet, with my feet on the table", he told a news conference late on Monday where he faced repeated questions over his capacity to deal with the temptations of Madrid's lively nightlife.
"I worked hard to get here, I am not going to go sleep under a banana tree now," the 24-year-old Portuguese striker added.
"We have a globally known footballer as well as a potential cover of Vogue," wrote daily newspaper El Mundo, adding Ronaldo does not hate nightlife as shown by his recent flirtation with Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton.
In a country where gossip magazines and television shows dedicated to celebrities are an institution, the Portuguese playmaker risks being pursued at all times by the camaras and smitten women.
"He is going to have the paparazzi at his door at all hours, and being single, in Madrid the press is going to claim three or four different women are his girlfriend everyday," said Atletico Madrid's former Portuguese international Paulo Futre.
"Ronaldo is responsible for the most expensive transfer of all time, is involved in marketing campaigns and in Spain the gossip press is very influential. This is an explosive mixture," he told daily Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha.
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