Ronaldo's Life

Introduction

Ronaldo against Turkey in 2013

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, born 5 February 1985), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and captains the Portugal
national team.

Ronaldo became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. He is regarded by some in the sport to be currently the best player in the world, and one of the greatest of all time.

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 CP. In 2003 he caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup.

In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008 and 2013, he won the FIFA/Ballon d'Or award for the best footballer in the world, the first Portuguese player to win the award twice.^[10][11] He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in 2008, 2011 and 2014. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or. In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. In a 2014 UEFA poll, he was named the greatest goalscorer to play in the UEFA Champions League. With 67 goals, he is tied second in the competition's top scorers of all time, only trailing Raúl by four goals. He also holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, scoring 17 goals in the 2013–14 season.

Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach 100 league goals, and the first player to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. He holds the record for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th career goal.

Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He has since been capped over 100 times and has participated in 6 major tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and three FIFA World Cups (2006,2010 and 2014). Ronaldo is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals, making him Portugal's top goalscorer of all time. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008, and at Euro 2012 he led Portugal to the semi-finals, finishing the competition as joint-top scorer in the process.

Early Life

Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name "Ronaldo" was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His great-grandmother Isabel da Piedade was from Cape Verde.

The family was staunchly Catholic and Ronaldo later claimed that he lived in poverty, sharing a room with his brother and sisters. Ronaldo was popular with other students at school, but he was expelled after he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo later said of the incident: "He disrespected me". At the age of 14, Ronaldo agreed with his mother to then focus entirely on football.

Ronaldo against Germany
 in their group stage match at UEFA Euro 2012.

Club Life

Early career

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

Spoting CP

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the club's football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.

At the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.

In November 2002, Ronaldo was invited to Arsenal's training ground, London Colney to meet manager Arsène Wenger and his coaching staff. Wenger, who was interested in signing the midfielder, had arranged to meet Ronaldo's representatives, Formation (who suggested the player originally to Gérard Houllier, then Liverpool's manager and Joan Laporta, then Barcelona's president) in the subsequent months to discuss a transfer arrangement. Of a possible move to Liverpool, he said "Liverpool are one of the best clubs in England and it would be a dream for any player to represent a club of such traditions".

However he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvaladein Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him. In April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to become the 100,000th member of the club.

Style Of Play

Widely regarded as one of the two best players in the world within his generation (the other being Lionel Messi) and as one of the best players to ever play the game, Cristiano Ronaldo plays an attacking role, most often playing as either a striker or as a winger, and is known for his finishing, pace, dribbling, positioning, crossing and free kick ability. He is able to play on either wing as well through the center of the pitch, making him a very versatile attacker.

Tactically, Ronaldo plays a powerful attacking role, often drifting from the left wing into the centre when moving off the ball. Ronaldo is known to be mentally sharp, with good vision, predicting certain plays, and also possesses very good reactions, balance and agility. Although right footed, he is also able to control the ball and cross and finish well with his left foot.

Ronaldo is known for his pace, skill, control and dribbling ability, as well as his flair in beating players during one on one situations. He is able to finish well both inside the area and from distance. He is also an accurate set piece specialist and is renowned for his bending free kicks. Uniquely, his height, strength, jumping ability and heading technique have given him an edge in winning aerial challenges for balls, with many of his goals often being headers.

Following his arrival at Manchester United, Ronaldo underwent a major body transformation, from a skinny youth to an athletically built adult. His well-built, muscular body type allows him to retain possession of the ball. Some figures in football, such as Mike Clegg (former Manchester United strength and conditioning coach) and French great Zinedine Zidane, have praised Ronaldo's work ethic and dedication to improvement on the training field. His drive and determination is fuelled by a desire to carve his name in history alongside footballing legends such as Pelé and Diego Maradona, but he has also stated that he would rather be remembered as a role model than one of world football's best players.

Ronaldo has at times been criticised for diving when tackled, about which José Mourinho responded, "Cristiano is a player who does not have the culture of the swimming pool, he has no culture of simulation, he is a British-trained player, Ferguson trained. In some cases, the simulators are given more protection, and those who are honest are often the losers. I'm not a hypocrite if I say that they (defenders) hit Cristiano very hard, and that the yellow cards do not arrive or are slow in coming".

Earlier in his career, Ronaldo had been described as having an "arrogant image" on the field with Ronaldo stating that he had become a "victim", because of how he was portrayed in the media. He is often seen moaning, gesticulating and scowling while trying to inspire his team to victory, with Ronaldo insisting that his competitive nature should not be mistaken for arrogance. His managers, team-mates and various journalists have commented that this reputation has caused an unfair image of him. In 2014, Ronaldo told France Football that he had made a "mistake" when he said in 2011, "People are jealous of me as I am young handsome and rich", adding that he had matured since then and fans

Ronaldo in action for Real Madrid againstEspanyol in December 2012.

understood him better.

Ronaldo's direct football style, skill and goalscoring ability have been his most noticeable traits throughout his career, and his overall talent has at times led him to be considered a player who stands out and who can be a match changer.

“	"Maturity brings many things. When I went to see them play against City, some of his decision-making in terms of passing was brilliant. One-touch passing, good crosses. In the six years we had him, you just saw his game grow all the time, and he was a fantastic player. Now you see the complete player. His decision-making, his maturity, his experience, plus all the great skills he has got, they all make him the complete player".	”
	— Alex Ferguson on the 27-year-old Ronaldo, January 2013

COMPARISONS TO LIONEL MESSI

Ronaldo's increasing production led the media to draw comparisons between him and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, as the pair possesses similar attributes for their team and also for revolutionising statistics for goals scored. Billed as "football's greatest modern rivalry" and the "greatest footballer in the world debate", which Ronaldo has commented on saying: "Some people say I'm better, other people say it's him, but at the end of the day, they're going to decide who is the best player. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid. I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high."

Ronaldo and Messi for the Nominations
 for FIFA BALLOON D'OR
2013

Even before he [Ronaldo] signed for Madrid, I knew he would be my great rival in the following years.

“

”

— Lionel Messi commenting on his rivalry with Ronaldo.

However, some former great players have criticised the comparison, such as Brazilian legend Pelé and former Portuguese international Luís Figo, who cited that they have different playing styles. Though the comparison has been criticised, many figures in the football world have cited Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's finest players, such as Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and his namesake Ronaldo. Ronaldo's former Real Madrid manager, José Mourinho, once stated: "If both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were born in different eras, they would have ruled the football scene and collected 10 FIFA Ballon d'Ors each."