Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer. He plays as a forward for the captains both Saudi Pro League club AI Nassr and the Portugal national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League.
One of the world’s most marketable and famous athletes, Ronaldo was ranked the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016, 2017, and 2023. Time included Ronaldo on their list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014. He is the first footballer and the third sportsman to earn US $1 billion in his career.
Family
Cristiano Ronaldo is the fourth and the youngest child of his parents. His mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro was a cook in the hospitality industry and a cleaning woman. His father, Jose Dinis Aveiro was a municipal gardener at Junta de Freguesia of Santo Antonio and also a part-time kit man for the football team Andorinha. He has one older brother Hugo and two older sisters named, Elma and Liliana Katia.
Ronaldo was named after an actor and the U.S. President, Ronald Reagan because his father was his big fan. He grew up in an impoverished Roman Catholic home, by sharing a room with all his siblings.
Career
From 1992 to 1995, Ronaldo played for Andorinha as a child. Then, he spent two years, from 1995 to 1997 with Nacional. In 1997, when he was 12 years old, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who signed him for a fee of £1,500. By the age of 14, Ronaldo believed that he had the ability to play semi-professionally. So, he decided to focus entirely on football, leaving his schooling in the 6th grade. His mother and tutor also wanted him to do the same.
Later, after an year, he was diagnosed by tachycardia and it could have stopped him from playing football. But, he went under a surgery, in which a laser was used to cauterize multiple cardiac pathways into one, which even altered his resting heart rate. He resumed his training few days later.
On 14 August 2002, when he was 17 years old, Ronaldo played his first match for the first team, UEFA Champions League qualifying round at Jose Alvalade Stadium. Manchester United’s signed Ronaldo for £12 million on 12 August 2003. From this, he became the first portuguese player to sign for the club.
Story behind the squad number 7..!
Ronaldo had requested for the number 28, but he received the squad number 7 shirt. The number 7 shirt was previously worn by the top players of Manchester United, like George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. So, wearing the “number 7 shirt” became like an extra motivation for Ronaldo. Gary Neville, his teammate said that “he was not a pony, nut the REAL thing” and also predicted that he would become a world-class player. Woah… That’s amazing, right?!
Ronaldo played two of his best matches of the 2004-05 season. He won his second trophy in English football, the Football League Cup. He broke the 20-goal barrier for the first time and won his first Premier League title.
In the 2006-07 season, he won many awards like, Professional Footballer’s Association‘s Players’ Player, Fan’s Player, Young Player of the Year award, and also the Football’s Writer’s Association’s Footballer of the Year Award. He became the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA honours. From then on, Ronaldo never looked back and he kept moving forward…
Personal Life
Ronaldo first became a father to his son, who was born in June 2010 and named as Cristiano Jr. He has the full custody of this child and has not publicly revealed the identity of the mother, as per an agreement with her. In 2010, Ronaldo got into a relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk, which ended after 5 years, in january 2015.
On 8 June, 2017, Ronaldo became a father to the twins via surrogacy. The twin girl was named as Eva and the boy was named as Mateo. He is currently in relationship with Argentine-born Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez. She gave birth to a daughter in November 2017. They earlier, decided to keep their daughter’s name as Alana Martina. In 2022, the couple expected another set of twins but the male twin died during the child birth and the female twin survived, who was named Bella. He has five living children (as of 2024).
| Full Name | Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro |
| Age | 39 (as of 2024) |
| Date Of Birth | 5 February, 1985 |
| Birth Place | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal |
| Partner | Georgina Rodriguez (since 2016) |
| Ex | Irina Shayk (2010-2015) |
| Children | Cristiano Jr. (born in 2010) Eva & Mateo (twins born in 2017) Alana Martina (2017) Bella (2022) |
| Shirt Number | 7 |
| Salary per month | Rs. 68 crore |
| Net worth | $600 million |
Interesting Facts
!! Cristiano Ronaldo is the first mal player to score a goal in five different world cups. Amazing, know?!
!! Rinaldo is named after the US President, Ronald Reagen.
!! The Madeira International Airport, located on Portuguese island got renamed to “Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport” in his honour.