Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985, in Madeira, Portugal to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and Jose Deniz Aveiro. Cristiano has an elder brother, Hugo, and two elder sisters, Elma and Katia, His name was inspired by the former US-president, Ronald Reagan, whom his father was influenced by.
The island of Madeira was also the place where Cristiano first learned to master his skills as a footballer. He spent his early years playing for his local team, National, and by the time he turned 12 years old, he already made his name for himself as one of Madeira's top footballers. It wasn't long before he started to catch the attention of other big Portuguese clubs. Among sporting was Benicia, a team Cristiano and his father followed as a young boy. However, he eventually chose to play for sporting, which was a team his mother loved.
He was then spotted by former Liverpool manager, Gerard Haulier at the age of sixteen but Liverpool had no intentions to sign him at that time because they thought he was too young, and he needed more time to develop his skills. However, in the summer of 2003, when Sporting played against Manchester United and defeated them, Cristiano caught the attention of Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player. Initially, he requested for the number 28 as his jersey number because he didn't feel that he could live up to the pressure of previous players such as George Best and David Beckham, who wore the number 7 jersey.
The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending off his club teammate, Wayne Rooney, who was playing for the England team. It wasn't either long until fans started accepting Cristiano again. In 2007, he won PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Fans' Player of the Year, Portuguese Footballer of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year. The year 2008 also saw him taking back the PFA Player Of The Year Award for the second time running. That same year, Ronaldo also had to deal with controversies regarding his club transfer to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. He eventually chose to stay with Manchester United and stressed to the public that he had no intentions of leaving the club
Cristiano now lives with his cousin, Nunoa and his brother-in-law Zen. When he is not on the field, he is a very family oriented person. Growing up, when he was about to choose football as his career, he said that it was very difficult for him as that would mean lesser time with his family, especially his mother, whom he says play a major role in his life.
During his free time, Cristiano enjoys cooking. He mentioned in an interview that he usually cooks before he leaves for his soccer practice. Because he is constantly training, Cristiano rarely has time to watch TV. If he does get the time to watch, he says he loves watching one of the local Portuguese game show, which is mostly about trivia questions. Cristiano is an avid learner, and he takes interest in learning new things every day. Among Cristiano's biggest pet peeves are smoking, people who don't make an effort and dishonesty.
When the tsunami hit South East Asia, Cristiano flew to Indonesia to help those in need. He auctioned off a little stuff to help raise funds for charity. He hopes to get involved in more charity projects in the future because he believes his star status will help him reach out to others for help.
Early Life of Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985, and was named Ronaldo after the then US President Ronald Reagan.
He grew up in a poor family and had to share a bedroom and bathroom with his older brother and two older sisters.
He started playing soccer at an early age when he was just eight. He was always running away from doing homework.
He was nicknamed ‘cry baby’ because he felt bad when he used to pass the ball to his friends, and they couldn’t score.
A very popular student in school, Ronaldo was expelled at the age of 14 for throwing a chair at his teacher, who Ronaldo thought disrespected him. He then turned his entire attention to soccer and went on to become the world’s greatest soccer player.
But at the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with ‘racing heart’. His condition was serious, and would have made him let go of football. But a surgery saved him, and he went back for his training.
Career
At the age of 17, Ronaldo played his first professional game for the ‘Portuguese Super League.’
In 2003, for the first time, Manchester United paid such a young player 12 million pounds as a signing amount. After this, there has been no looking back.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has labelled Ronaldo as the fittest athlete in the world. His body fat ratio is just 10%!
Ronaldo has an amazing ability to jump really high. This gives him an advantage to make goals as he can jump head and shoulders higher than other footballers.
He can produce 5 times more G-force than a cheetah during a take-off on his jump! His free kick speed is 13.1 kmph, equivalent to a space shuttle!
Recognition
On June 2010 Ronaldo became the fourth footballer ever to have a wax statue at the Madame Tussauds museum in London.
In his hometown there is a museum, Museum CR7 which is dedicated only to Ronaldo containing his trophies, medals, rare pictures and everything related to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was doubtful about wearing the Number 7 shirt because he thought it would be too much pressure on him as the number 7 shirt was worn by legends like Johnny Berry, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. After wearing it, he was forced to live up to the number.
Ronaldo donates blood regularly and does not smoke or have any tattoos on his body.
Ronaldo has won the FIFA World Player of the year award, Ballon d’Or, the Golden Boot, and has been named the UEFA Club Forward of the Year as well.
Ronaldo also has a fashion boutique named CR7 and models for men’s fashion wear. The store is famous for featuring diamond studded clothing.
He is rich and famous but is always involved with charity, fund-raising and donations to NGOs. He has funded schools in Gaza and also acts as the Ambassador to Save the Children and The Mangrove Care Forum in Indonesia.
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