Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH, ComM (European Portuguese: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁoˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as the greatest of all time,[note 1] Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards,[note 2] the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 25 trophies in his career, including five league titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. Both a prolific goalscorer and playmaker, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in Europe's top-five leagues (393), the UEFA Champions League (120), the UEFA European Championship (29), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (8). He has scored over 650 senior career goals for club and country.
Born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15. He underwent an operation to treat his condition, and began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United at age 18 in 2003. After winning his first trophy, the FA Cup, during his first season in England, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and a FIFA Club World Cup. By age 22, he had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations and at age 23, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the most expensive association football transfer[note 3] when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).
In Spain, Ronaldo has won 14 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. After joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d'Or in 2013 and 2014. Real Madrid's all-time leading goalscorer, Ronaldo has scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season[note 4] and is the only player to reach 30 league goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons. Ronaldo won back-to-back Ballons d'Or for a second time, winning by a record voting margin in 2016 after sealing La Undécima, Madrid's 11th European title, and winning Euro 2016, and in 2017 after firing Madrid to the first back-to-back UEFA Champions League victory in history.
A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. Ronaldo made his senior international debut in August 2003, at age 18. He is Portugal's most capped player of all time with over 140 caps, and has participated in seven major tournaments. He is Portugal's all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first international goal at Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over full captaincy in July 2008, leading Portugal to their first-ever triumph in a major tournament by winning Euro 2016, and received the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament. One of the most marketable sportsmen, he was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017, as well as the world's most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016 and 2017.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Club career
2.1 Sporting CP
2.2 Manchester United
2.2.1 2003–07: Development and breakthrough
2.2.2 2007–09: Collective and individual success
2.3 Real Madrid
2.3.1 2009–13: World record transfer and La Liga championship
2.3.2 2013–15: Consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or wins and La Décima
2.3.3 2015–17: All-time Real Madrid top scorer and La Undécima
2.3.4 2017–present: La Duodécima and fifth Ballon d'Or
3 International career
3.1 2001–06: Youth level and early international career
3.2 2006–12: Assuming the captaincy
3.3 2012–16: All-time Portugal top scorer and European champion
3.4 2016–present: Post-European Championship victory
4 Player profile
4.1 Style of play
4.2 Reception
4.3 Comparisons to Lionel Messi
5 In popular culture
6 Outside football
6.1 Personal life
6.2 Philanthropy
6.3 Fashion
6.4 Controversies
7 Career statistics
7.1 Club
7.2 International
8 Honours and achievements
8.1 Club
8.2 International
8.3 Individual
8.3.1 Orders
8.4 Records
8.4.1 World
8.4.2 Europe
8.4.3 Spain
8.4.4 England
8.4.5 Real Madrid
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Early life
Ronaldo was born in São Pedro, Funchal, and grew up in the Funchal parish of Santo António,[4][5][6] as the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener and a part-time kit man.[7] His second given name, "Ronaldo", was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan.[8] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[2] His great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from São Vicente, Cape Verde.[9] Ronaldo grew up in a Catholic and impoverished home, sharing a room with his brother and sisters.[10]
As a child, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha from 1992 to 1995,[11][12] where his father was the kit man,[13] and later spent two years with Nacional. In 1997, aged 12, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who signed him for a fee of £1,500.[14][15] He subsequently moved from Madeira to Alcochete, near Lisbon, to join Sporting's other youth players at the club's football academy.[16] By age 14, Ronaldo believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally, and agreed with his mother to cease his education in order to focus entirely on football.[17] While popular with other students at school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him.[17] However, one year later, he was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that could have forced him to give up playing football. He underwent an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the affected area of his heart; discharged from hospital hours after the procedure, he resumed training only a few days later.[18]
Club career
Sporting CP
Ronaldo memorabilia at Sporting CP's museum
At age 16, Ronaldo was promoted from Sporting's youth team by first-team manager László Bölöni, who was impressed with his dribbling.[19] He subsequently became the first player to play for the club's under-16, under-17 and under-18 teams, the B team, and the first team, all within one season.[16] A year later, on 7 October 2002, Ronaldo made his debut in the Primeira Liga, against Moreirense, and scored two goals in their 3–0 win.[20] Over the course of the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta.[21][22] Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to discuss a possible transfer.[23]
Ronaldo came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in August 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. His performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.[24] Ferguson himself considered the 18-year-old "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.[25][26] A decade after his departure from the club, in April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to become their 100,000th member#
