Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (born 5 February 1985) plays as a striker for and leads both the Portugal national team and Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. One of the best players of all time, Ronaldo has won four European Golden Shoes, the most of any European player, a record three UEFA Best Player in Europe trophies, and five Ballon d'Or medals. In his career, he has won 34 trophies, including the UEFA European Championship, the UEFA Nations League, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and seven league championships.
The most appearances, goals, and assists in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship, international goals, and appearances for a single player are all held by Ronaldo. His nearly 850 official senior career goals for club and country make him the all-time leading scorer. He is one of the select few players to have over 1,200 professional career appearances.
Ronaldo, one of the most marketable and well-known sportsmen in the world, was named the highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes in 2016, 2017, and 2023. From 2016 to 2019, ESPN named Ronaldo the most renowned athlete in the world. He was listed by Time as one of the top 100 global influencers in 2014. He is the third athlete to collect $1 billion in career earnings in sports, and the first football player.
Early life
The Portuguese island of Madeira's capital, Funchal, is where Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985. He spent his childhood in the adjacent parish of Santo António. He is the youngest and fourth child of José Dinis Aveiro, a part-time kit man and municipal gardener, and Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, a chef. Isabel da Piedade, his great-grandmother on his father's side, was a native of the Cape Verdean island of So Vicente. Hugo is his older brother, while Elma and Liliana Cátia "Katia" are his older sisters. Ronald Reagan, an actor and former president of the United States, was his father's favourite actor.
International career
In 2001, Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal's under-15 team. Ronaldo played for the under-15, under-17, under-20, under-21, and under-23 national teams during his international youth career, earning 34 junior caps and tallying a total of 18 goals.
At the age of 18, Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal as a senior player in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan on August 20, 2003. He replaced Luis Figo at halftime. He was then selected for the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, which was hosted in his home nation, and on his ninth appearance for Portugal, in a 2-1 loss to eventual champions Greece in the group stage, he scored his first international goal. He helped Portugal go to the final by scoring the first goal in a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands after scoring on his penalty in a shootout against England in the quarterfinals. Along with his two goals, he also contributed two assists, earning a spot on the tournament's all-star team.
