Portuguese football player

Alternative title: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Cristiano RonaldoPortuguese football player

Cristiano Ronaldo, in full Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born February 5, 1985, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal) Portuguese football (soccer) forward who was one of the greatest players of his generation.
Ronaldo’s father, José Dinis Aveiro, was the equipment manager for the local club Andorinha. (The name Ronaldo was added to Cristiano’s name in honour of his father’s favourite movie actor, Ronald Reagan, who was U.S. president at the time of Cristiano’s birth.) At age 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a heart condition that necessitated surgery, but he was sidelined only briefly and made a full recovery. He first played for Clube Desportivo Nacional of Madeira and then transferred to Sporting Clube de Portugal (known as Sporting Lisbon), where he played for that club’s various youth teams before making his debut on Sporting’s first team in 2002.
A tall player at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 metres), Ronaldo was a formidable athlete on the pitch. Originally a right-winger, he developed into a forward with a free-reined attacking style. He was able to mesmerize opponents with a sleight of foot that made sufficient space for openings in opposing defenses.
After a successful season with Sporting that brought the young player to the attention of Europe’s biggest football clubs, Ronaldo signed with English powerhouse Manchester United in 2003. He was an instant sensation and soon came to be regarded as one of the best forwards in the game. His finest season with United came in 2007–08, when he scored 42 League and Cup goals and earned the Golden Shoe award as Europe’s leading scorer, with 31 League goals. After helping United to a Champions League title in May 2008, Ronaldo captured Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Player of the Year honours for his stellar 2007–08 season. He also led United to an appearance in the 2009 Champions League final, which they lost to FC Barcelona.
Soon thereafter Ronaldo was sold to Spain’s Real Madrid—a club with which he had long been rumoured to want to play—for a then record £80 million (about $131 million) transfer fee. His scoring prowess continued with his new team, and he netted the most goals (40) in La Liga history during the 2010–11 season (his record was broken the following season by his rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona). In 2011–12 Ronaldo helped Madrid capture a La Liga championship and scored a personal-best 46 goals during the League season. He scored a total of 66 goals in 56 appearances with Madrid and the Portuguese national team in 2013 to earn his second world player of the year award (the FIFA World Player of the Year was renamed the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2010). In 2014 he scored 52 goals in 43 games and led Madrid to a Champions League title, which resulted in Ronaldo capturing another Ballon d’Or award. In 2014–15 he netted 48 goals to lead La Liga in scoring. Ronaldo netted his 324th goal as a member of Real in October 2015 to become the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. He scored 35 La Liga goals in 2015–16 and helped Real win its record 11th Champions League title.
On his home soil, after moving through the youth and under-21 ranks, Ronaldo had made his first appearance for Portugal’s full national team against Kazakhstan in August 2003 (four days after his debut for United). He was a key player in Portugal’s fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup and became the full-time captain of the national team in 2008. In 2012 his stellar play led Portugal to the semifinals of the European Championship, where his team was eliminated by rival Spain in a match that was decided by a penalty kick shoot-out. Ronaldo came into the 2014 World Cup hot off of his second world player of the year win, but his play at the tournament was spotty, and the entire Portugal team struggled during a group-stage elimination. In 2016 he helped Portugal win the European Championship, the country’s first major international tournament title, although he only played sparingly in the final because of a knee injury that he had sustained early in the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo Biography

Cristiano Ronaldo has gone from a small island in the middle of the ocean to the top of the soccer world. Kidzworld checks out one of the world's most exciting soccer superstars.

Growing Up

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985, on the island of Madeira, which is a few hundred miles south of Portugal. He grew up in a small house in the city of Funchal and began playing soccer for a youth team in Madeira, where his dad was the team's equipment manager. At just 12 years old Cristiano moved 600 miles to Lisbon, which is on the mainland of Portugal, to play for Sporting Lisbon's youth team. The move was a difficult one for Cristiano, since he was away from his family and many of his teammates made fun of his Madeiran accent.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Teenage Soccer Star

While some kids chose to tease Cristiano about his accent, no one was teasing him about his soccer skills. His dazzling footwork and goal-scoring abilities made him a teenage super-star. He played his first game for Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Super League when he was 17 and quickly became known as one of the most exciting young soccer players in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo

 

Teenage Millionaire

Cristiano's talent caught the eye of Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, who bought him from Sporting Lisbon for a mind-boggling $20 million US! Cristiano had great success playing for both Manchester United and for Portugal. He scored the opening goal for Manchester in their 2004 FA Cup victory and helped Portugal advance to the finals at Euro 2004. In 2009, Manchester United accepted an offer of 80 million pounds (that's over $120 million US!) from Spain's Real Madrid soccer team for Cristiano, who had apparently made it known he wanted to leave England for Spain.

Off the Field

No matter what team he's on, Cristiano's fabulous footwork and good looks have made him one of the most popular players in Europe. He's a millionaire at a very young age (Cristiano is now in his 20s), he drives expensive Ferrari cars and he's been linked to famous American celebs like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Did U Know?

• Ronaldo was named after former US President, Ronald Reagan, who was greatly admired by Ronaldo's dad. His full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
• Cristiano Ronaldo's favorite actress is Angelina Jolie.
• When Cristiano Ronaldo was a kid, he once hit a teacher with a chair because she made fun of his Madeiran accent (Kidzworld doesn't recommend you hit your teachers with chairs).