Cristiano Ronaldo Biography Facts, Childhood, Career, Life

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus F. C.
Cristiano Ronaldo (forward) for Juventus F.C. in 2019. (Photo credit: Unknown)

Cristiano Ronaldo, popularly known by his nickname ‘CR7’ is a Portuguese professional football player.

He plays forward for Juventus (Italian club) and the Portugal National Team. Among the greatest of all time to have graced the football pitch, entertaining us with a unique style of play, outstanding dribbles, sensational goals and electrifying speed, Cristiano Ronaldo stands out.

The ace skipper has a penchant for scoring incredible goals while inspiring his team to victory. Ronaldo emboldens the perfect definition of winning.

We take a close look into the life of this football star who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time on the planet in our Cristiano Ronaldo biography facts, childhood, career and personal life.

Cristiano Ronaldo Childhood & Early Life

Cristiano Ronaldo Childhood Photo
Cristiano Ronaldo Childhood Photo

Cristiano Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985. He was the fourth child born to his mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and his father, Jose Dinis Aveiro in Funchal, an island of Madeira, Portugal.

His father worked as a metropolitan gardener while his mother was a cook. Ronaldo was named after then-US President Ronald Reagen.

Ronaldo has an elder brother, Hugo and older sisters, Elma and Liliana. While growing up, he and all his siblings shared a room.

Ronaldo was raised as a Catholic. He played for an amateur team, Andorinha, before being signed by Sporting CP for 1,500 Euros after a three-day trial.

Ronaldo stopped attending school so as to focus on his football career. Prior to that decision, he was expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher.

His football dreams were threatened by a racing heart condition, but after undergoing surgery he resumed playing.

Cristiano Ronaldo Club Career

Sporting CP (2002–2003)

Ronaldo earned his place in the youth team of Sporting CP at the age of 16, after he was promoted by the first-team manager.

Ronaldo became the first sporting CP player to play in the under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team and first team in a season.

Ronaldo’s representative spoke with then-Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier and Barcelona president, Joan Laporta on signing him.

Arsenal Manager also met with Ronaldo to discuss a possible transfer. Alex Ferguson was impressed by Ronaldo’s performance in a 3-1 defeat of Manchester United in August 2003.

Ferguson was further pressurized to sign him permanently after United plan to sign him for a year before loaning him back to Sporting CP. Sporting was paid 12.24 million pounds in exchange for him.

Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Sporting Lisbon
Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Sporting Lisbon. Photo Credit: World Soccer Talk

Manchester United (2003–2009)

Ronaldo who was the first Portuguese signing by Manchester United had the most expensive signing for a teenager in the 2003–2004 season.

He proved his worth as he became one of the best players in Europe. While Ronaldo played in England, he became the first player to break the 20-goal barrier and helped United claim their first League title in four years.

His achievements didn’t go unnoticed as he received Professional Footballer’s Association’s Player, Young Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year, making him the first player to receive four major PFA and FWA award for two consecutive seasons.

He also won the Premier League Golden Boot for his 31 goals and European Golden Shoe, the first winger to achieve the feat.

In the Champions League, Ronaldo inspired United to clinch Europe’s prestigious tournament which earned him the UEFA club footballer of the Year Award.

Ronaldo rounded off his time with United with the Ballon d’Or award, becoming the first Premier League Player to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year.

He also received the FIFA Puskas Award for best goal as well as winning the Premier League with United for the third time. Ronaldo claimed a total of nine trophies while at Manchester United.

Ronaldo poses with the champions league trophy
Ronaldo poses with the champions league trophy while at Manchester United

Real Madrid (2009–2018)

Ronaldo secured a move to Real Madrid before the start of the 2009–2010 season, in a world-record transfer of 94 million Euros, with a 1 billion Euros buyout clause with His contract which was set to expire in 2015.

The attendance of 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu broke the 25-year record of 75,000 attendances at Diego Maradona’s Napoli presentation.

His first season with Madrid still saw him as a Ballon d’Or contender as he emerged second in the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year behind Lionel Messi despite failing to win any trophy.

The following season saw him also emerged as a runner-up behind Lionel Messi in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards. But this time inspiring Madrid to the La Liga title, their first in four years.

During his time at Madrid, he forged an attacking trio, known as the BBC, an acronym for Bale, Benzema and Cristiano with his fellow teammates. He enjoyed a successful run, which made him admit he was in the best form of his career.

Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d’Or an amalgamation of the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo also helped the Madrid to their tenth European championship, La Decima and as well as their 12thLa Duodecima.

Ronaldo particularly achieved more in his final days with Madrid becoming Madrid first Player to score a total of 5,900 goals.

He also became the first player to score 100 goals in a UEFA club competition. Ronaldo emerged the top scorer of the UEFA Champions League for a fifth consecutive season. He led Madrid to their twelveth European title, La Duodecima earning him his fifth Player of the Year award.

Ronaldo received the Ballon d’Or award a day after winning the FIFA Best Men Player Award. The highest point of his last days with Madrid was his bicycle kick goal in a 3-0 away win over Juventus which was lauded by the opposition fans.

The goal was labelled as a “Playstation goal” by Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli.

Cristiano Ronaldo Scores bicycle kick goal
Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid scores his bicycle kick goal dubbed “Playstation goal” in the first leg of Madrid’s 2017 UEFA Champions League game. He scored the 2-0 goal during the quarter-final first leg match between Juventus FC vs Real Madrid CF at Allianz stadium, Italy.

Juventus (2018 – 2021)

After rumours of an imminent move from Real Madrid, Ronaldo secured a 100 million Euros transfer to Juventus which also included an additional 12 million euros in fee and contributions to Ronaldo’s youth club.

His transfer was the highest for a player above 30 years old. Ronaldo attributed his move to Juventus to the need for a new challenge, but later said he opted for a transfer due to a lack of support from the club president.

He debuted for Juventus in a Serie A goal against Chievo on August 18, 2018. In his first champions league appearance for Juventus, he was sent off due to violent conduct.

Ronaldo celebrates his first goal for Juventus
Ronaldo celebrates his first goal for Juventus

Manchester United (2021 – present)

Ronaldo returned to his youth team Manchester United in August 2021. It was no shock that the first day of his return to Manchester United his T shirt sales have broken every club record, ever.

As this stage evolves we will update this page with his achievements that are honestly too much to keep track at this stage. Breaking league records every year, it is clear that even at his age which is considered ” old” he still has the ability to be at the top of his game.

Cristiano Ronaldo National Team Career

After beginning his national team career in 2001, Ronaldo became a regular face in the Portuguese National team squad, appearing in the 2002 URFA European Under-17 Football Championship, the 2004 summer Olympic as well as in the under-15, under-17, under-20, under-21 and under-23 national teams, before debuting for the senior team at age 18.

After a series of trials at the Euros, Ronaldo finally led Portugal to the Euros success in 2016. He last featured for the Portuguese side in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia where he had a spectacular performance.

Ronaldo with 2016 Euros trophy
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with 2016 Euros trophy

Cristiano Ronaldo Family and Personal Life

Ronaldo gave birth to his first child in 2010, the identity of the child’s mother is unknown. It is unclear if he was involved in a relationship or if the child was given birth to via surrogacy. In 2017, he became a father to twins.

Ronaldo is known to be a philanthropist. In 2004, he visited Indonesia to raise funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction after TV footage showed a boy whose parent had been killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and had been stranded for 19 days.

In 2012 he and his agent paid for the treatment of a nine-year-old Canarian boy with terminal cancer. He sold his 2011 golden boot for 1.5 million euros to fund schools in Gaza.

In August 2016, he launched the CR7Selfie app, a selfie app for charity to aid Saving of children.

Scandals

Ronaldo and a man were accused of rape. One of the women involved withdrew her allegation. Subsequently, Scotland Yard issued a statement that there was not enough evidence to file a case.

In 2017, German newspaper Der Spiegel published an article which alleged a rape accusation against Ronaldo.

The rape was said to have taken place in 2009 and was subject to legal persecution before a non-disclosure agreement was signed, which made the charges to be dropped. In September 2018, the German newspaper revealed the name of the woman as Kathryn Mayorga. Ronaldo dismissed the allegation as fake news.

Ronaldo was charged with tax evasion in July 2017. He was said to have evaded about 15 million euros in tax between 2011 and 2014. He was reportedly sentenced to two years in jail and fined about 18.8 million euros in a deal with the Spanish Authorities.

The fine was reduced by 2 million euros. The sentence could be served under probation without jail time.


Cristiano Ronaldo Achievements and Awards

Tournaments Won

  1. Premier League (2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009)
  2. FA Cup (2003-2004), Football League Cup (2005-2006, 2008-2009)
  3. FA Community Shield (2007)
  4. La Liga (2011-2012, 2016-2017)
  5. Copa del Rey (2010-2011, 2013-2014)
  6. Supercopa de Espana (2012, 2017)
  7. UEFA Champions League (2007-2008, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018)
  8. UEFA Super Cup (2014, 2017)
  9. FIFA Club World Cup (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017)
  10. UEFA European Championship (2016)
  11. UEFA Euros (2016)

Individual Awards

  1. FIFA Ballon d’Or (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
  2. UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2016-2017)
  3. Champions League Forward of the Season (2017-2018)
  4. UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (2008)
  5. Barclays Player of the Year (2006-2007, 2007-2008)
  6. PFA Young Player of the Year (2006-2007)
  7. PFA Player of the Year (2006-2007, 2007-2008)
  8. La Liga Best Player (2013-2014)
  9. La Liga Best Forward (2013-2014)
  10. La Liga Most Valuable Player (2012-2013)

Cristiano Ronaldo Biography Facts, Nickname, Occupation, Current Teams, Education, Parents, Siblings, Wife/Girlfriend, Children, Zodiac Sign

Full Name:Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Nickname:C. Ronaldo, CR7, CR, The Sultan Of The Stepover, Rocket Ronaldo, Cris, Ronnie, Ron
Birthday:February 5, 1985 (age 39 years)
Place of Birth:Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Nationality:Portuguese
Height:6 feet 2 inches
Shoe Size:9
Weight:180 Ibs (84 kg)
Parents:Jose Dinis Aveiro (father),
Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro (mother)
Spouse:Georgina Rodriguez (girlfriend)
Children:Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. (son),
Mateo Ronaldo (son),
Eva Maria Dos Santos (daughter),
Alana Martina dos Santos Aveiro (daughter)
Occupation:Football Player
Current Club/Team:Manchester United F.C.
Portugal National Football Team
Position:Forward
Zodiac Sign:Aquarius

SEE ALSO: 10 Reasons Cristiano Ronaldo Is The Greatest Footballer Of All Time


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