Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António. He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros Aveiro, who worked as a cook in the hospitality industry and a cleaning woman, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener at the Junta de Freguesia of Santo António and part-time kit man for football club Andorinha. His father served in the Portuguese Army during the Portuguese Colonial War and saw combat in Angola, he was traumatized by his experiences as a soldier which led to lifelong struggles with alcoholism. Ronaldo has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia "Kátia". He was named after actor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, whom his father was a fan of. 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. Ronaldo grew up in an impoverished Catholic home, sharing a room with all his siblings. As a child, Ronaldo played for Andorinha from 1992 to 1995, where his father was the kit man, 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. He subsequently moved from Madeira to Lisbon to join Sporting CP's youth system. By age 14, while struggling with his school duties and responsibilities in Escola EB2 de Telheiras, his school in the Telheiras area of Lisbon, Ronaldo believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally and agreed with his mother and his tutor at Sporting CP, Leonel Pontes, to cease his education to focus entirely on football. With a troubled life as a student, and although living in Lisbon area away from his Madeiran family, he did not complete schooling beyond the 6th grade. While popular with other students at school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him. One year later, he was diagnosed with tachycardia, a condition that could have forced him to give up playing football. Ronaldo underwent heart surgery where a laser was used to cauterise multiple cardiac pathways into one, altering his resting heart rate. He was discharged from the hospital hours after the procedure and resumed training a few days later. In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo's mother, Dolores Aveiro, stated in an interview for Sporting CP's official television channel (Sporting TV) that her son would be a bricklayer if he had not become a professional football player. Growing up, Ronaldo idolised the Brazilian footballers Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, and has described them as leaving "a beautiful history in football".

Main article: Career of Cristiano Ronaldo § Club career Sporting CP After impressing in Sporting's youth teams, he was promoted to the main team by first-team manager László Bölöni. At age 17, on 14 August 2002, he played his first official match for the first team, in a UEFA Champions League qualifying round at José Alvalade Stadium against Inter Milan, and his Primeira Liga debut, took place a month later against Braga, and on 7 October, he scored two goals against Moreirense in their 3–0 win. Over the course of the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in signing Ronaldo, met with him at Arsenal's stadium in November to discuss a possible transfer. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was determined to acquire Ronaldo on a permanent move urgently, after Sporting defeated United 3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade on 6 August 2003. Initially, United had planned to sign Ronaldo and loan him back to Sporting for a year. Having been impressed by him, the United players urged Ferguson to sign him. After the game, Ferguson said Ronaldo was "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen. Manchester United 2003–2007: Development and breakthrough "}},"i":0}}]}' id="mwAWY">.mw-parser-output .quotebox{background-color:#F9F9F9;border:1px solid #aaa;box-sizing:border-box;padding:10px;font-size:88%;max-width:100%}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatleft{margin:.5em 1.4em .8em 0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatright{margin:.5em 0 .8em 1.4em}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.centered{overflow:hidden;position:relative;margin:.5em auto .8em auto}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatleft span,.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatright span{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .quotebox>blockquote{margin:0;padding:0;border-left:0;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-title{text-align:center;font-size:110%;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote>:first-child{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote:last-child>:last-child{margin-bottom:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote.quoted:before{font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:large;color:gray;content:" “ ";vertical-align:-45%;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote.quoted:after{font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:large;color:gray;content:" ” ";line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .left-aligned{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .right-aligned{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .center-aligned{text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .quote-title,.mw-parser-output .quotebox .quotebox-quote{display:block}.mw-parser-output .quotebox cite{display:block;font-style:normal}@media screen and (max-width:640px){.mw-parser-output .quotebox{width:100%!important;margin:0 0 .8em!important;float:none!important}} "There have been a few players described a

Main article: Career of Cristiano Ronaldo § International career Ronaldo (bottom left) playing for Portugal during their semi-final match against the Netherlands at Euro 2004 At the age of 18, Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal as a substitute against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003. At UEFA Euro 2004, he scored his first international goal in a 2–1 group stage loss to Greece in his eighth international appearance. Despite Portugal losing to Greece again in the final, Ronaldo made the team of the tournament, with two assists and two goals. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, at the age of 21 years and 132 days, Ronaldo became the youngest ever goalscorer for Portugal at a World Cup finals. Portugal reached the semi-finals, where Portugal lost to France, with Ronaldo being booed during their defeat, due to an incident that occurred in the quarter-finals against England. FIFA's Technical Study Group overlooked him for the tournament's Best Young Player award and handed it to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing his behaviour as a factor in the decision. Ronaldo, pictured playing against Germany at Euro 2012, was made captain for Portugal in 2008. On 6 February 2007, Cristiano captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil. He wore the number 7 shirt ahead of UEFA Euro 2008. Despite scoring eight goals in qualifications, the second-highest tally, he scored just one goal in the finals, netting the second goal of Portugal's 3–1 win in the group stage game against the Czech Republic. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 3–2 loss to Germany. Ronaldo failed to score in 2010 World Cup qualifying. He scored only one goal in the 2010 World Cup finals; despite this, he was named man of the match in all three group stage matches, against Ivory Coast, North Korea and Brazil. His only goal of the tournament came in their 7–0 demolishing of North Korea, which was his first international goal in 16 months. Two years later, in UEFA Euro 2012, Ronaldo was joint top scorer with three goals, enough for him to be included in the team of the tournament. During qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored eight goals. Despite this, Portugal did not qualify directly; Ronaldo scored all four goals against Sweden in the play-off to qualify. At the tournament in Brazil, Ronaldo assisted a last-minute 2–2 equaliser against the United States, and scored an 80th-minute winner in a 2–1 win over Ghana. Ronaldo leaps in the air in Portugal's Euro 2016 quarter-final match against Poland. In 2016, Ronaldo led Portugal to their first-ever trophy at the UEFA Euro 2016, although he was subbed off in the 25th minute in the final against hosts France. He received the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer, which gave him his fourth Ballon d'Or later that year. With the win, Portugal qualified and made its only appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup held in Russia, where they finished in third place, with Ronaldo being named man of the match

Style of play At his peak, Ronaldo was known for his exceptional speed, explosive shooting, flair and athleticism. A versatile attacker, Ronaldo is capable of playing on either wing as well as through the centre of the pitch, and, while ostensibly right-footed, is very strong with both feet. Tactically, Ronaldo has undergone several evolutions throughout his career. While at Sporting and during his first season at Manchester United, he was typically deployed as a traditional winger on the right side of midfield, where he regularly looked to deliver crosses into the penalty area. In this position, he was able to use his pace and acceleration, agility and technical skills to take on opponents in one-on-one situations. Ronaldo became noted for his dribbling and flair, often displaying an array of tricks and feints, such as the step overs and so-called 'chops' that became his trademark; he has also been known to use the flip-flap. His strength and jumping ability, combined with his elevation, heading accuracy and height of .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in), give him an edge in winning aerial duels. These attributes allow him to function as a target-man and make him an aerial goal threat in the penalty area; consequently, many of his goals have been headers. Ronaldo holds the record for the highest recorded jump in football history, measuring 2.93 metres (9 ft 7 in), which he achieved during a match against Manchester United while playing for Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2013. Allied with his increased stamina and work-rate, his goalscoring ability improved drastically on the left wing where he was given the positional freedom to move into the centre to finish attacks. He has also increasingly played a creative role for his team, often dropping deep to pick up the ball, participate in the build-up of plays and create chances for his teammates, courtesy of his vision and passing ability. In his final seasons at United, Ronaldo played an even more attacking and central role, functioning both as a striker and as a supporting forward, or even as an attacking midfielder on occasion. He developed into a prolific goalscorer, capable of finishing well both inside the penalty area and from distance with an accurate and powerful shot, courtesy of his striking ability. An accurate penalty kick taker, he also became a set piece specialist, renowned for his powerful, bending free kicks. When taking free kicks, Ronaldo is known for using the knuckleball technique, which was developed by Juninho Pernambucano. He also adopts a trademark stance before striking the ball, which inv

Popularity and online following "},"youtube_views":{"wt":"903 million"},"stats_update":{"wt":"30 September 2025"}},"i":0}}]}' id="mwCDo"/>UR · CristianoYouTube informationChannel.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}UR · CristianoYears active2024–presentGenresSportsEntertainmentSubscribers76.7 millionViews903 millionLast updated: 30 September 2025 Ronaldo was named in the 2014 Time 100, Time's annual list of the most influential people in the world. ESPN named Ronaldo the world's most famous athlete in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Demand for a replica Ronaldo shirt has been high throughout his career. In 2008, Ronaldo's number 7 Manchester United shirt was the best-selling Premier League sports product. In 2015, Ronaldo's number 7 Real Madrid shirt was the second best-selling worldwide, after Messi's number 10 Barcelona shirt. In 2018, within 24 hours of his number 7 Juventus shirt being released, over 520,000 had been sold, with $62.4 million generated in one day. Fans of Real Madrid (left; Ronaldo's then current club) and Manchester United (right; Ronaldo's then former club) wearing Ronaldo's 7 shirt at the 2017 UEFA Super Cup Ronaldo has established a strong online presence. The most popular sportsperson on social media, he counted over 500 million total followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by February 2021, making him the first person to pass half a billion followers. The most-followed person on Facebook (171 million), most-followed on Instagram (650 million) and most-followed sportsperson on Twitter (115 million), his sponsors earned $936 million in media value across his accounts between June 2016 and June 2017. After announcing the creation of his YouTube channel, UR · Cristiano on 21 August 2024, it became the fastest to reach the 1 million subscribers milestone, doing so in 90 minutes. The channel also became the fastest to reach 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 million subscribers. It also became the most subscribed channel in Portugal, surpassing the Portuguese Nick Jr. Computer security company McAfee produced a 2012 report ranking footballers by the probability of an internet search for their name leading to an unsafe website, with Ronaldo's name first on the list. Wealth and sponsorships With earnings of €720 million (£615 million) from 2010 to 2019, Ronaldo was ranked second in Forbes list of the decade's highest-paid athletes, behind boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. Forbes ranked Ronaldo as the highest-paid ahtlete in the world in 2016 ($88 million), 2017 ($93 million) and from 2023 to 2025 ($136 million, $260 million and $275 million respectively), and he has entered every top 10 since the ranking's inception in 2012. He has also been included in every annual ranking of the highest-paid athletes by Sportico: h