Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), better known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is the captain of the Portuguese national team and he is currently playing at Saudi Arabian football club Al Nassr.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo WC2022 - 01 (cropped).jpg
Ronaldo with Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full nameCristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro[1]
Date of birth (1985-02-05) 5 February 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birthFunchal, Madeira, Portugal[1]
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[note 1]
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Al Nassr
Number7
Youth career
1992–1995Andorinha
1995–1997Nacional
1997–2002Sporting CP
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002–2003Sporting CP B2(0)
2002–2003Sporting CP25(3)
2003–2009Manchester United196(84)
2009–2018Real Madrid292(311)
2018–2021Juventus98(81)
2021–2022Manchester United40(19)
2023–Al Nassr20(20)
National team
2001Portugal U159(7)
2001–2002Portugal U177(5)
2003Portugal U205(1)
2002–2003Portugal U2110(3)
2004Portugal U233(2)
2003–Portugal200(123)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:45, 2 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:10, 20 June 2023 (UTC)

He is considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, and, by some, as the greatest ever.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Ronaldo began his professional career with Sporting CP at age 17 in 2002, and signed for Manchester United a year later. He won three back-to-back Premier League titles: in 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09. In 2007-08, Ronaldo, helped United win the UEFA Champions League. In 2008-09, he won his first FIFA Club World Cup in December 2008, and he also won his first Ballon d'Or. At one point Ronaldo was the most expensive professional footballer of all time, after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid for approximately £80 m in July 2009.

He won his first trophy with Real Madrid in 2011, the 2010-11 Copa del Rey. In the next season, he won his first La Liga title with the club, the 2011-12 La Liga. In the 2012-13 season he won the Supercopa de España. In the next season, the 2013-14 season, he won his second Ballon d'Or. Then he won the Copa del Rey, and he also won his second Champions League with a record 17 goals. The following year, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or again, along with his second FIFA Club World Cup in December 2014. In 2016, Ronaldo won his third Champions League, and scored the winning penalty in the final against Atlético Madrid. He won his fourth Ballon d'or the next season, his second La Liga title for the first time in five years, another Champions League, and his second Club World Cup. Ronaldo's last season with Real Madrid was the 2017-18 season, where he won his fifth Ballon d'Or in 2017, and also won his fifth Champions League and scored two goals in the final against Juventus. With his third consecutive Champions League, he became the first player to win the UEFA Champions League five times.[15] He would later go on to transfer to Juventus in July 2018. Ronaldo left the club by holding the record for being the top goal scorer in Real Madrid's history, and remaining as the only player in La Liga's history to score 30 or more goals in six consecutive seasons.[16]

Ronaldo began his career with Portugal at age 18. He scored his first goal at UEFA Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final, although they lost to Greece 1-0. The first World Cup he played at was the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He scored a goal and helped Portugal earn fourth place. Two years later, he became Portugal's full captain. Since then, he has appeared at four Euro's: 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. He has also appeared at three World Cups: 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Funchal, Madeira Islands in early 1985 to Maria Dolores dos Santos and José Dinis Aveiro.[17] He has one brother named Hugo, and two sisters named Katia and Elma.[18] Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart (Tachycardia) at age 15 in 2000. In 1997, 12-year-old Ronaldo went on a trial with Sporting CP.[19] He impressed the club enough to be signed for £1,500. He then moved from Funchal to Lisbon, to join the Sporting youth academy. In 1999, at age 14 he was expelled from school for throwing a chair at his teacher.

Growing up, Ronaldo idolized the Brazilian legends Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazário, and has described them as leaving "a beautiful history in football".[20]

Club career

Sporting CP

Ronaldo played his first professional match against Inter Milan on 14 August 2002. He came in as a sub during the second half.[21] On 7th October 2002, Ronaldo played a role in his first game in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, against Moreirense. He scored two goals and Sporting won 3–0. Ronaldo came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in August 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the first game ever played at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. His performance impressed the United players.

Manchester United

Real Madrid

Juventus

Return to Manchester United

On 31 August 2021, Ronaldo returned to Manchester United and the Premier League, where in the 2021-2022 season, scored 18 goals in the premier league.[23]

Al-Nassr

On 30 December 2022, Ronaldo signed for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on a 2-year deal worth 200 million euros a year.

International career

 
Cristiano Ronaldo captaining Portugal in 2010. Ronaldo became Portugal's captain in 2007.

Youth

Ronaldo began his international career with the Portugal under-15's in 2001. In 2002, he played the U-17 Euro with Portugal's U-17. In June 2003, Ronaldo won the Toulon Tournament with the Portugal U-20. He played with the U21's in 2003 as well during the 2004 U-21 Euro qualification stages. He also played with the Portugal under-23 team at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he scored one goal against Morocco.

Senior

He kept progressing through the youth national teams until he played his first senior game for Portugal when he was 18 on 20 August 2003 against Kazakhstan. He scored his first goal for Portugal in a game against Greece at the UEFA Euro 2004.

Ronaldo was selected to play at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was also his first World Cup. During the tournament, he scored a goal against Iran. That goal was also his first World Cup goal. In the match against England, Ronaldo's teammate at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, was sent off. Ronaldo went up to the referee and appeared to ask the ref to give a red card to Rooney. Rooney pushed Ronaldo as he was talking to the ref. After Rooney left the pitch, Ronaldo was caught on camera winking at the Portugal bench.[24] Even though the referee said Rooney would've gotten the red card if Ronaldo complained or not, these actions caused a lot of fans to hate Ronaldo because they believed he influenced the referee's decision.[25]

Ronaldo became captain of Portugal for the first time in a friendly game against Brazil on 6 February 2007. At Euro 2008, he scored one goal against Czech Republic. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals by barely losing to Germany 3-2.[26] In the 2010 World Cup, Ronaldo only scored one goal in a 7-0 win against North Korea, but was the man of the match in all of Portugal's 3 group stage games.[27][28][29] Portugal were eliminated in the round of 16 by Spain 1-0, and Spain went on to win the World Cup.[30]

His first international hat-trick came in a 4-2 win against Northern Ireland on 6 September 2013. In that match, he scored 3 goals in 15 minutes.[31] He became Portugal's all time top scorer when he scored twice against Cameroon in March 2014, with Portugal winning 5-1.[32] At the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo scored a goal against Ghana, and assisted a last minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw against the United States. In a 3-3 draw against Hungary in Euro 2016, Ronaldo scored a back heel goal. This goal made him the first player to score in four Euros.[33] Although he had to leave the game early because he got injured in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final, Portugal still won 1-0 in extra time because of a goal from Eder.

In the 2018 World Cup held in Russia, Ronaldo scored 4 goals. In Portugal's first group game, he scored a hat trick against Spain in a 3-3 draw. After that he scored the winning goal against Morocco. In the last group game, he missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Iran. Portugal qualified to the knockout stages by finishing second in the group. They were eliminated by Uruguay 2-1. Ronaldo became one of only four players to score at 4 World Cups. He has played at 4 of them: 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.

In June 2019, Ronaldo won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal to give him his second international title. In the final, Portugal beat The Netherlands 1-0.

Playing style

Ronaldo is able to play on both wings and also as a striker since he is very strong with both feet, even though he is naturally right footed.[34] He is also one of the world's fastest players.[35][36] He has good heading ability because he is over 6 feet tall and jumps high. He is also known for his powerful "knuckleball" free kicks. The "knuckleball" technique is when the ball spins very little and creates an unpredictable motion. He combines this with his powerful shot, making it hard for goalkeepers to stop his shots. Ronaldo has also been known for his dribbling, as he likes to do many tricks and feints with the ball to pass defenders, such as the step-over.[37] When he was at Manchester United, he would play as a winger and try to send crosses into the middle. At Real Madrid, he changed his playing style by moving more towards the middle and becoming more of a striker. He also focused more on scoring goals.[38] When he arrived to Juventus, he stayed with this playing style of being a goal scorer and target man, although he dribbled with the ball more because he sometimes liked to play his traditional winger position and go one-on-one with defenders. He also sent crosses more frequently than he did in his last few seasons at Real Madrid.[39]

Reception

Ronaldo has been criticized for "diving" by many people, including his Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.[40][41] He has also been criticized for being arrogant, such as complaining for not receiving set-pieces (free-kicks and penalties) when he gets fouled, having too much self-confidence, not celebrating with teammates after scoring goals, and getting excessively angry with others after losing.[42][43] Examples of this are when he threw a reporter's microphone into a lake before a UEFA Euro 2016 match,[44] and negative comments made at the Iceland national team after playing against them.[45]

Personal life

Ronaldo's father, José Aveiro, died of liver disease at age 52 in September 2005. Ronaldo was 20 years old at the time.[46] Ronaldo said that he does not like to drink alcohol, mostly because of his dad's death, but has on some very few occasions.[47]

In 2006, Ronaldo opened his first fashion boutique under the name "CR7" (his initials and shirt number) on the island he was born in, Madeira. He opened a second boutique in Lisbon in 2008,[48] and a third in 2009, located in Madrid.[49] In December 2013, Ronaldo opened his own museum called Museu CR7, which has all of his trophies and awards from his career.[50]

Ronaldo became a father on 17 June 2010. He had a son, named Cristiano Jr. He was born in the United States through an American surrogate he met in a restaurant, and Ronaldo announced that he had full custody. Ronaldo has never publicly revealed information about his son's mother, but he says he will reveal it to Cristiano Jr. when he gets older. On 8 June 2017, Ronaldo confirmed on social media that he had become the father to twins, Mateo and Eva. They were born in the United States to a surrogate mother.[51][52] In November 2017, his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez gave birth to their first daughter, Alana.[53]

Ronaldo has had many relationships. He was in a relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk from 2010–2015.[54] In 2016, he began to date Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez. They were publicly seen for the first time at Disneyland Paris in November 2016.

Ronaldo is a Roman Catholic. He does not have tattoos because it would prevent him from donating blood.[55] On 9 November 2015, a movie about his lifestyle and his career was released. The title of the movie is Ronaldo.[56][57]

On 29 March 2017, Madeira Airport was renamed to Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport. A bust of Ronaldo was also revealed as part of the official renaming ceremony.[58]

He is currently the most followed Instagram user, with over 200 million followers as of February 2020.[59] He passed Selena Gomez as the most followed person in October 2018, with 144 million followers.[60][61]

Legal Issues

In June 2018, Ronaldo was given a suspended jail sentence of 2 years and a fine of €18.8 million for tax evasion.[62]

In 2017, a woman claimed she was raped by Ronaldo at a hotel in Las Vegas in June 2009.[63] Many articles state that Ronaldo and the woman both met each other at the nightclub of the hotel. Ronaldo later invited her to his suite, and that was where the rape occurred. Ronaldo paid that woman $375,000 to stay quiet, and an agreement was made between Ronaldo's lawyers and the woman's lawyers that if she publicly shared information of what happened, she had to pay those $375,000 back. Ronaldo himself denies raping the woman and calls it "fake news". In July 2019, prosecutors said they would not charge Ronaldo because there was not enough evidence.[64][65][66]

Career Statistics

Club

International

 
Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2018 World Cup

Honors

Portugal

Individual

Cristiano Ronaldo Media

Other websites

Notes

  1. Varies between 1.88 and 1.92 by source. FIFA and Sports Illustrated give 1.88,[2][3] Luca Caioli [es; fi] 1.86,[4] Soccerway and Eurosport 1.87,[5] Premier League 1.87,[6] and the Portuguese Football Federation 1.89.[7]
  2. Although there was no third-place playoff, both losing semi-finalists (Germany and Portugal) were awarded bronze medals by UEFA.[8]

References

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  4. Caioli 2016, Facts and figures.
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  10. "Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer ever, says Zinedine Zidane". Hindustan Times. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
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  67. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :3.
  68. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :5.
  69. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :4.