CHRISTIANO RONALDO

 Christiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 05, 1985 in the Portuguese island of Madeira. He is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or a striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo started his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for one season, before signing with Nacional. In 1997, he moved to Portuguese giants Sporting CP for £1 million. Ronaldo left Sporting in 2003 for English Premier League club Manchester United for £12.24 million. In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free-kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on November 06, 2005. He went on to become the first Portuguese player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2008. Ronaldo was the world’s highest paid footballer from 2016–17, and was ranked the world’s most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016 and 2017.

Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He is Portugal’s most capped player of all time with 156 appearances, and has participated in eight major tournaments: four UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016) and four FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018). He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 100 appearances and score over 50 goals for their country, and he is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 goals in European competitions. Ronaldo has scored a record 77 goals for Portugal. He had his most successful campaign at Euro 2004, where he was named the best young player and Portugal finished second. Ronaldo scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out against England in the quarter-finals, and was named man of the match in the semi-final against the Netherlands. At Euro 2008, Ronaldo led Portugal to the quarter-finals, scoring a goal against Germany. Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores Spinola dos Santos da Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name, “Ronaldo”, was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His great-grandmother on his father’s side, Isabel da Piedade, was from the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Ronaldo grew up in a largely working-class neighbourhood in a small tin-roofed home. As a child, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha from 1992 to 1995, where his father was the kit man, and later spent a season with Nacional.

In 1997, aged 12, Ronaldo agreed with his mother to move with her to the city of Rio Ave, in Portugal’s northern region to join the club’s youth academy. Ronaldo played for Rio Ave’s under-16 team. In his first season, he helped the club reach the final of the Taça de Honra de Lisboa, Portugal’s premier cup competition for junior teams, which Rio Ave lost to Belenenses. The following year, Rio Ave finished third in the league and Ronaldo was praised by both his club and the press. By age 14, Ronaldo believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally, and agreed with his mother to cease his schooling in order to focus entirely on football. While popular with other students at school, Ronaldo was expelled after he threw a chair at his teacher, who he alleged had disrespected him. However, one year later, he was diagnosed with a heart condition called tachycardia, and was advised to quit football. Ronaldo said of the incident: “He disrespected me, and I just threw a chair at him.” Ronaldo resumed playing for Rio Ave, and was promoted to the senior team. He made his debut for Rio Ave on November 01, 2002, in a 1–0 home win against Moreirense. Ronaldo continued his development and rose to prominence playing for Sporting’s under-15 and under-17 teams. He was promoted to Sporting’s B-team, and, later, the senior team, where he made his debut in the Primeira Liga in October 2002. In 2003, Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United was agreed for a fee of £12.24 million, which, at the time, made him the most expensive teenager in English football history. Ronaldo was presented with the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by United legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Ronaldo made his first appearance for Manchester United in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers on August 16, 2003, where he impressed with his vision and creativity. In his first season in English football, Ronaldo was voted FWA Footballer of the Year, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year. He was also named in both the FIFPro World XI and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. In the 2004–05 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the campaign in the opening game against Bolton Wanderers. He went on to score a hat-trick in United’s 6–2 away win against Fulham on October 23, 2004. Ronaldo was nominated for the 2004 Ballon d’Or and was named in the FIFA World XI for 2004. He was named the Barclays Player of the Month twice, in October and December 2004. In January 2005, Ronaldo was voted the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation. Ronaldo scored a total of 15 league goals in the 2004–05 season, and was voted the FWA Footballer of the Year for the second consecutive time. In the 2005–06 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 away win against Charlton Athletic on August 27, 2005. He scored a hat-trick in United’s 6–2 home win against Fulham on October 22, 2005. Ronaldo was named the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2005 after scoring five goals in four league matches. He was nominated for the 2005 Ballon d’Or, but lost out to Barcelona’s Ronaldinho. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year for 2005. Ronaldo scored a total of 23 league goals in the 2005–06 season. In the 2006–07 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 away win against Aston Villa on August 19, 2006. He scored a hat-trick in United’s 6–0 home win against Newcastle United on October 28, 2006. Ronaldo was named the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006 after scoring five goals in four league matches. He was nominated for the 2006 Ballon d’Or, but lost out to Barcelona’s Ronaldinho. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year for 2006. Ronaldo scored a total of 31 league goals in the 2006–07 season. In the 2007–08 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season in a 3–2 home win against Portsmouth on September 01, 2007. He scored a hat-trick in United’s 6–0 away win against Newcastle United on December 26, 2007. Ronaldo was named the Barclays Player of the Month for December 2007 after scoring five goals in four league matches. He was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d’Or, but lost out to Milan’s Kaká. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year for 2007. Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions in the 2007–08 season. In the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 away win against Portsmouth on August 16, 2008. He scored a hat-trick in United’s 6–2 home win against Arsenal on November 08, 2008. Ronaldo was named the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2008 after scoring five goals in four league matches. He was nominated for the 2008 Ballon d’Or, but lost out to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year for 2008. Ronaldo scored a total of 26 goals in all competitions in the 2008–09 season. In the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 away win against Chelsea on August 29, 2009. He scored a hat-trick in United’s 5–0 home win against Stoke City on November 21, 2009. Ronaldo was named the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2009 after scoring five goals in four league matches. He was nominated for the 2009 Ballon d’Or, but lost out to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year for 2009. Ronaldo scored a total of 33 goals in all competitions in the 2009–10 season.

On June 06, 2009, Ronaldo was transfer-listed by Manchester United after he had expressed his desire to leave the club. On June 11, 2009, Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, confirmed that Ronaldo would be leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid in a world record transfer fee of £80 million (€94 million). Ronaldo was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on July 06, 2009, where he was given the number 9 shirt. Ronaldo made his debut for Real Madrid in a 2–0 away win against Deportivo de La Coruña on August 29, 2009. He scored his first goal for Real Madrid in a 2–1 home win against Zaragoza on September 12, 2009. In the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 33 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2010–11 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 53 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2011–12 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 60 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2012–13 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 55 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2013–14 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 61 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2014–15 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 48 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2015–16 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 35 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2016–17 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2017–18 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 44 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2018–19 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 28 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. In the 2019–20 season, Ronaldo scored a total of 31 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid. Ronaldo has won five Ballon d’Or awards, four of which he won consecutively, and three European Golden Shoes. He has been named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during the Portugal national team’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 2015. One of the most marketable athletes in the world, he was ranked the world’s highest-paid footballer for five years out of six, between 2016 and 2021. As of June 2021, Ronaldo had 105 million followers on Instagram, making him the first person to reach 100 million followers.