Introduction

Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese soccer player. He is considered one of the best players of

his time and is one of the most well-known sports stars off the field. During his career Ronaldo
has won the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA; International Federation of
Association Football) player of the year award five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017).
(The award was called the World Player of the Year until 2009, the Ballon d’Or from 2010 to
2015, and finally the Best FIFA Men’s Player.)
Early Life
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira,
Portugal. His father was the equipment manager for Andorinha, the local football club. Ronaldo
first played for Clube Desportivo Nacional de Madeira and then transferred to Sporting Clube de
Portugal (known as Sporting Lisbon). He played for various youth teams for Sporting Lisbon
before making his debut on Sporting’s first team in 2002. Ronaldo’s position was originally a
right-winger, but he developed into a forward.
Playing Career

Manchester United
Ronaldo’s successful season with Sporting brought him to the attention of Europe’s biggest
clubs. In 2003 he became the first Portuguese player to sign with Manchester United, one of
England’s richest and best-supported football clubs. He was an instant sensation and soon
came to be regarded as one of the best forwards in the game. His most successful season with
Manchester United came in 2007–08. That season Ronaldo won the Golden Shoe award as
Europe’s leading scorer and FIFA World Player of the Year honors. Ronaldo led Manchester
United to a Champions League title in May 2008. In 2009 he led United to another Champions
League final, but they lost to FC Barcelona.

Real Madrid
Ronaldo moved to the Spanish club Real Madrid the following season. During the 2010–11
season he scored the most goals (40) in La Liga (Spanish football league) history. (That record
was broken the following season by Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona.) Ronaldo helped Madrid
win the La Liga championship in 2011–12. In 2013 he earned his second world player of the
year award. In 2014 Ronaldo scored 52 goals in 43 games. He led Madrid to a Champions
League title, and he won another world player of the year award.

In October 2015 Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goal scorer when he netted his
324th goal. His play continued to lead the team to La Liga and Champions League titles. In
2016 he captured his fourth player of the year award, and his fifth came the next year. In the
2017–18 season Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 44 games, and Real Madrid won a third straight
Champions League title.
In July 2018 he signed a contract with Juventus, one of Italy’s oldest and most successful clubs.
He scored 101 goals during the 131 games he played for Juventus. Ronaldo returned to
Manchester United in August 2021.

National Team
Ronaldo made his first appearance on Portugal’s national team in 2003. He helped the team
finish in fourth place at the 2006 World Cup. In 2008 he became full-time captain of the national
team. In 2016 he helped Portugal win the European Championship. It was Portugal’s first major
international tournament title. In September 2021 Ronaldo broke the record for most goals in
international football when he scored his 110th and 111th goals during Portugal’s match against
the Republic of Ireland.