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 Italian
club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world
and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time,[4][5][6] 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 28 trophies in his career, including six league titles,
five UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. A prolific goalscorer,
Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in the UEFA Champions League (126), the
UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions
League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (6). He has scored over 700 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 in England, the FA Cup, during his first season there, 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, what was, at the time, the most expensive association football transfer when he moved
from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).
With Real Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four
UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. Real
Madrid's all-time top goalscorer, Ronaldo scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-
tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season[note 3] and is the only player to reach 30 goals in six
consecutive La Liga seasons. After joining 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. After winning the 2016 and 2017 Champions Leagues, Ronaldo secured
back-to-back Ballons d'Or again in 2016 and 2017. A historic third consecutive Champions
Leaguefollowed, making Ronaldo the first player to win the trophy five times.[7] In 2018, he signed for
Juventus in a transfer worth an initial €100 million; the highest ever paid by an Italian club and the
highest fee ever paid for a player over 30 years old.
A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by
the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. He made his senior debut in 2003 at age 18, and has
since earned over 150 caps, including appearing and scoring in eight major tournaments,
becoming Portugal's most capped player and his country's all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first
international goal at Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final of the competition. He then 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, before becoming the highest European international goalscorer of all-time two years
later.[8]One of the most marketable athletes in the world, 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,
2017 and 2018.

Contents

 1Early life
 2Club career
o 2.1Sporting CP
o 2.2Manchester United
  2.2.12003–07: Development and breakthrough
 2.2.22007–09: Collective and individual success
o 2.3Real Madrid
 2.3.12009–13: World record transfer and La Liga championship
 2.3.22013–15: Consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or wins and La Décima
 2.3.32015–17: All-time Real Madrid top scorer and La Undécima
 2.3.42017–18: Fifth Champions League title and fifth Ballon d'Or
o 2.4Juventus
 2.4.12018–19: Debut season in Turin
 3International career
o 3.12001–07: Youth level and early international career
o 3.22007–12: Assuming the captaincy
o 3.32012–16: All-time Portugal top scorer and European champion
o 3.42016–present: Post-European Championship victory, and World Cup
 4Player profile
o 4.1Style of play
o 4.2Reception
o 4.3Goal celebrations
o 4.4Comparisons to Lionel Messi
 5Outside football
 6Personal life
o 6.1Family and relationships
o 6.2Philanthropy
o 6.3Controversies
 7Career statistics
o 7.1Club
o 7.2International
 8Honours and achievements
o 8.1Club
o 8.2International
o 8.3Individual
 8.3.1Awards
 8.3.2Performances
 8.3.3Orders
o 8.4Records
 8.4.1World
 8.4.2Continental
 8.4.3Spain
 8.4.4Portugal
 8.4.5Manchester United
 8.4.6Real Madrid
 9See also
 10References
 11Further reading
 12External links

Early life
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in São Pedro, Funchal, on the island of Madeira,
Portugal, and grew up in Santo António, Funchal.[9][10] He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria
Dolores dos Santos Aveiro (b. 1954), a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro (1953–2005), a municipal
gardener and a part-time kit man.[11] His second given name, "Ronaldo", was chosen after then-U.S.
president Ronald Reagan.[12] His great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from
the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde.[13] He has one older brother, Hugo (b. 1975), and two older
sisters, Elma (b. 1973) and Liliana Cátia "Katia" (b. 1977), who is a singer.[2] Ronaldo grew up in
a Catholic and impoverished home, sharing a room with all his siblings.[14]
As a child, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha from 1992 to 1995,[15] where his father was
the kit man,[16] 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.[17][18] He subsequently moved from Madeira
to Alcochete, near Lisbon, to join Sporting's other youth players at the club's football academy.[17] 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.[19] While popular with other students at
school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected"
him.[19] However, one year later, he was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that could have
forced him to give up playing football.[20] Ronaldo underwent heart surgery where a laser was used
to cauterise multiple cardiac pathways into one, altering his resting heart rate.[21] He was discharged
from the hospital hours after the procedure and resumed training a few days later.[22] [23]

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.[24]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 a single
season.[17] 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.[25] Over the course of the 2002–03
season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard
Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta.[26] Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in
signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to discuss a possible transfer.[27]
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, however, determined to acquire Ronaldo on a
permanent move urgently, after Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José
Alvalade in August 2003. Initially, United had just planned to sign Ronaldo and then loan him back to
Sporting for a year.[28] Having been impressed by him, however, the Manchester United players
urged Ferguson to sign him. After the game, Ferguson agreed to pay Sporting £12.24 million[28] for
what he considered to be "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.[29] A decade
after his departure from the club, in April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to
become their 100,000th member.[30]

Manchester United
2003–07: Development and breakthrough
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed before
the 2003–04 season.[31] His transfer fee of £12.24 million made him, at the time, the most expensive
teenager in English football history.[32] Although he requested the number 28, his number at Sporting,
he received the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by such United players as George
Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.[33][34] Wearing the number 7 became an extra source of
motivation for Ronaldo.[34] A key element in his development during his time in England proved to be
his manager, Alex Ferguson, of whom he later said, "He's been my father in sport, one of the most
important and influential factors in my career."[35]
Ronaldo made his debut in the Premier League in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers on 16
August 2003, receiving a standing ovation when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for Nicky
Butt.[36] His performance earned praise from George Best, who hailed it as "undoubtedly the most
exciting debut" he had ever seen.[37] Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free-
kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November.[38] Three other league goals followed in the
second half of the campaign,[39] the last of which came against Aston Villa on the final day of the
season, a match in which he also received his first red card.[40] Ronaldo ended his first season in
English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3–0 victory over Millwall in the FA Cup final,
earning his first trophy.[41]

Ronaldo playing against Chelsea in the Premier League during his third season in England

At the start of 2005, Ronaldo played two of his best matches of the 2004–05 season, producing a
goal and an assist against Aston Villa and scoring twice against rivals Arsenal.[42][43] He played the full
120 minutes of the decisive match against Arsenal in the FA Cup final, which ended in a goalless
draw, and scored his attempt in the lost penalty shootout.[44] He scored Manchester United's 1000th
Premier League goal on 29 October, their only strike in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough.[45] Midway
through the season, in November, he signed a new contract which extended his previous deal by
two years to 2010.[46] Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football, the Football League Cup,
after scoring the third goal in United's 4–0 final victory over Wigan Athletic.[47]
During his third season in England, Ronaldo was involved in several incidents. He had a one-match
ban imposed on him by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans,[48] and was sent off
in the Manchester derby—a 3–1 defeat—for kicking Manchester City's former United player Andy
Cole.[49] Ronaldo clashed with a teammate, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took offence at the
winger's showboating style of play.[50] Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in which he was involved
in an incident where club teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off,[51] Ronaldo publicly asked for a
transfer, lamenting the lack of support he felt he had received from the club over the
incident.[52] United, however, denied the possibility of him leaving the club.[53]