Cristiano Ronaldo life story

Cristiano Ronaldo

This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For the Brazilian footballer, see Ronaldo. For other people named Ronaldo, see Ronaldo (name).

"CR7" redirects here. For other uses, see CR7 (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Aveiro.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo playing for Real Madrid
Personal information
Full name	Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth	5 February 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	7
Youth career
1993–1995	Andorinha
1995–1997	Nacional
1997–2002	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2003	Sporting CP	25	(3)
2003–2009	Manchester United	196	(84)
2009–	Real Madrid	104	(114)
National team‡
2001–2002	Portugal U17	9	(6)
2002–2003	Portugal U20	5	(3)
2003	Portugal U21	6	(1)
2004	Portugal U23	3	(1)
2003–	Portugal	98	(37)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:00, 2 September 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:43, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,^[2] OIH, (born 5 February 1985),^[3] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world,^[4] and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.^[5]
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup. He also played at Euro 2004 with Portugal and scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final.
Ronaldo was the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.^[6] He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, and 2011. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, Onze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.^[7][8][9] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2009.
Ronaldo holds numerous former and current scoring records, including records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid, most goals scored per minute in La Liga, first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.^[10]