Cristiano Ronaldo | ||
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Personal information | ||
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Full name | Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro | |
Date of birth | 5 February 1985 | |
Place of birth | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | |
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |
Playing position | Winger | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Manchester United | |
Number | 7 | |
Youth clubs | ||
1993–1995 1995–1997 1997–2001 |
CF Andorinha CD Nacional Sporting CP |
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Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
2001–2003 2003– |
Sporting CP Manchester United |
175 (74) |
25 (3)
National team2 | ||
2002–2003 2003– |
Portugal U-21 Portugal |
61 (21) |
2 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (IPA: [kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985)[1] is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for English Premier League club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at C.D. Nacional and his successes with the team led to a move to Sporting two seasons afterwards. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. He earned his first cap for the Portuguese national team around the same time. He won his first club honour, the FA Cup, the following season and reached the final of the UEFA Euro 2004 with Portugal, scoring his first international goal in the process.
The next three years saw Ronaldo rising to global prominence, scoring frequently at both club and international level and receiving various awards for his accomplishments. The 2006–07 season brought him his first Premier League title. The following season at Manchester United, 2007–08, was his best yet as he retained the Premier League and won his first UEFA Champions League, the highest European club honour. Additionally, he was the Premier League's top scorer, won the European Golden Shoe, and was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year 2008.[2] On 2 December, Ronaldo was awarded the 2008 Ballon d'Or.[3]
Johan Cruijff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."[4]
Contents |
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. His second given name, "Ronaldo," was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor at the time.[5] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[1]
Ronaldo's favourite boyhood team was S.L. Benfica. At the age of eight, he played for amateur team C.F. Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club CD Nacional, and after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting Portugal, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.[6]
Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's football academy. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team, all within one season.[7] He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.[8]
He was first spotted by then-Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at sixteen, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills.[9] However, he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.[10]
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for £12.24 million after the 2002–03 season.[11] He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by team legends like Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."[12]
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4-0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers, and scored United's thousandth Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4-1 loss to Middlesbrough He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year awards in 2005 and 2006.
In November and December of 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.[13][14] He scored his fiftieth career Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City F.C. as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo,[15] he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.[16][17]
Ronaldo was involved in several diving incidents during the 2006-07 campaign. He was criticised by manager Gareth Southgate for diving in a December 2006 match against Middlesbrough.[18] On 4 February 2007, Ronaldo was again accused of diving in a match against Tottenham Hotspur when he won a penalty kick despite little contact from Tottenham winger Steed Malbranque.[19] Despite the controversies, Ronaldo nonetheless amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honor.[20] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Ronaldo was also one of seven Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
Ronaldo's 2007–08 season began with a red card for an alleged headbutt of Portsmouth F.C. player Richard Hughes during United's second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban.[21] Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future.[22] After scoring the only goal in a Champions League road match against Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return fixture as Manchester United topped their CL group.[23]
He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon D'or,[24] and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.[25]
Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.[26] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.[27] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Olympique Lyonnais on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA.[28] One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.[29]
On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained the United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory.[30] The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best's forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.[31] Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo's torrid scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca's Dani Güiza.[32]
In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equalizer in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans' Man of the Match,[33] and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling just four short of Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season.
On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.[34] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action.[35][36] Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at Manchester for at least another year.[37]
Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July.[38] He returned to action on 17 September in United's UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung,[39] and scored his first overall goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 30 August.
Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United in a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, both from free kicks.[40] The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time.[41]
On 2 December 2008, Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi.[42]
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He was called up for Euro 2004, scoring in a 2-1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece and in a 2-1 semifinal win over the Netherlands. He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals.[43] That same year, he also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
He was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals,[43] and scored his first and only World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.[44]
During a quarter-final match against England on 8 July 2006, Ronaldo's United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stomping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondo's decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's dismissal. After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off.[45] On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney's infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.[46]
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United,[47] and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid.[48] In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney.[49][50] Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.[51]
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semifinal defeat to France, and missed out on the competition's Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans.[52] Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA's Technical Study Group awarded the honor to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor in the decision.[53]
One day after his twenty-second birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil on 6 February 2007. This move was in honour of Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained, "Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a gesture...[he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us."[54]
Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign,[55] but finished with only one goal in the tournament as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1 | 12 June 2004 | Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal | ![]() |
1 – 2 | 1 – 2 | Euro 2004 |
2 | 30 June 2004 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 2 – 1 | Euro 2004 |
3 | 4 September 2004 | Skonto stadions, Riga, Latvia | ![]() |
0 – 1 | 0 – 2 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
4 | 8 September 2004 | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 4 – 0 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
5 | 13 October 2004 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 7 – 1 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
6 | 13 October 2004 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
4 – 0 | 7 – 1 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
7 | 17 November 2004 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxemburg City, Luxembourg | ![]() |
0 – 2 | 0 – 5 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
8 | 4 June 2005 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 2 – 0 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
9 | 8 June 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | ![]() |
0 – 1 | 0 – 1 | World Cup 2006 Qualifying |
10 | 1 March 2006 | LTU Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany | ![]() |
0 – 1 | 0 – 3 | Friendly |
11 | 1 March 2006 | LTU Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany | ![]() |
0 – 3 | 0 – 3 | Friendly |
12 | 17 June 2006 | Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 2 – 0 | World Cup 2006 |
13 | 7 October 2006 | Estádio do Bessa, Porto, Portugal | ![]() |
1 – 0 | 3 – 0 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
14 | 7 October 2006 | Estádio do Bessa, Porto, Portugal | ![]() |
3 – 0 | 3 – 0 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
15 | 15 November 2006 | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 3 – 0 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
16 | 24 March 2007 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 0 | 4 – 0 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
17 | 24 March 2007 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
4 – 0 | 4 – 0 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
18 | 22 August 2007 | Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia | ![]() |
1 – 1 | 1 – 1 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
19 | 8 September 2007 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | ![]() |
2 – 1 | 2 – 2 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
20 | 17 October 2007 | Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan | ![]() |
0 – 2 | 1 – 2 | Euro 2008 Qualifying |
21 | 11 June 2008 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland | ![]() |
1 – 2 | 1 – 3 | Euro 2008 |
Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[57] | Total | ||||||
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Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Sporting CP | 2002–03 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | |
Total | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | ||
Manchester United | 2003–04 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 6 |
2004–05 | 33 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 9 | |
2005–06 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 12 | |
2006–07 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 23 | |
2007–08 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 42 | |
2008–09 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 9 | |
Total | 174 | 74 | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 47 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 101 | |
Career total | 198 | 77 | 27 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 50 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 287 | 106 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 3 December 2008[58]
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Persondata | |
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NAME | Aveiro, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ronaldo, Cristiano |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Portuguese footballer |
DATE OF BIRTH | 5 February 1985 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal |
DATE OF DEATH | |
PLACE OF DEATH |