Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁɔˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A 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, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards[note 3] and four European Golden Shoes, both of which are records for a European player. He has won 31 major trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA European Championship, and one UEFA Nations League title. Ronaldo holds the records for the most goals (134) and assists (42) in the history of the UEFA Champions League.[10] He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,000 professional career appearances and has scored a record 770 senior career goals for club and country.[11] He is also the second male to score 100 international goals and the first European one to achieve the feat.[12]

Born and raised in Madeira, Ronaldo began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United in 2003, aged 18. After winning the FA Cup in his first season, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup; at age 23, he won his first Ballon d'Or. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the then-most expensive association football transfer when signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million). There, he won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, and four UEFA Champions League titles, and became the club's all-time top goalscorer. 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 from 2013–2014 and again from 2016–2017. After winning a third consecutive Champions League title in 2018, Ronaldo became the first player to win the trophy five times.[13] In 2018, he signed for Juventus in a transfer worth an initial €100 million (£88 million), the highest fee ever paid by an Italian club and the highest ever paid for a player over 30 years old. He won the Serie A title in his first two seasons with the club.

One of the most marketable and famous athletes in the world, Ronaldo was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017 and the world's most famous athlete by ESPN from 2016 to 2019. Time included him on their list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.[14] Ronaldo is the first footballer, as well as only the third sportsman, to earn $1 billion in their career.[15]

Early life

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in São Pedro, Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in Santo António, Funchal.[16][17] He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener and part-time kit man.[18] His great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde.[19] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia "Katia".[20] His mother revealed that she wanted to abort him due to poverty, his father's alcoholism and having too many children already, but her doctor refused to perform the procedure.[21] Ronaldo grew up in a Catholic and impoverished home, sharing a room with all his siblings.[22]

As a child, Ronaldo played for Andorinha from 1992 to 1995,[23] where his father was the kit man,[18] 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.[24] He subsequently moved from Madeira to Alcochete, near Lisbon, to join Sporting youth football academy.[24] 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.[25] While popular with other students at school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him.[25] However, one year later, he was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that could have forced him to give up playing football.[26] Ronaldo underwent heart surgery where a laser was used to cauterise multiple cardiac pathways into one, altering his resting heart rate.[27] He was discharged from the hospital hours after the procedure and resumed training a few days later.[28][29]

Club career

Sporting CP

At age 16, Ronaldo was promoted from Sporting's youth team by first-team manager László Bölöni, who was impressed with his dribbling.[30] 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.[24] 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.[31] Over the course of the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta.[32] Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to discuss a possible transfer.[33]

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, however, was 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.[34] 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[34] for what he considered to be "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.[35] A decade after his departure from the club, in April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to become their 100,000th member.[36]

Manchester United

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Portuguese player when he signed before the 2003–04 season.[38] His transfer fee of £12.24 million made him, at the time, the most expensive teenager in English football history.[39] 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.[40] Wearing the number 7 became an extra source of motivation for Ronaldo.[41] 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."[42]

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 substitute.[43] 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.[44] Three other league goals followed in the second half of the campaign,[45] 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.[46] 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.[47] BBC pundit Alan Hansen described him as the star of the final.[48] The British press had been critical of Ronaldo during the season for his "elaborate" step-overs in trying to beat a man,[49] but teammate Gary Neville said he was "not a show pony, but the real thing", and predicted he would become a world class player.[50]