Cristiano Ronaldo Biography, Soccer Player, Athlete ... part 02
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo had turned heads with a mesmerizing performance with Portugal against Manchester United, wowing even his opponents with his footwork and deft skill. He made such an impression that a number of United players asked their manager to try and sign the young player, which the team soon did.
In 2001, Manchester United paid more than £12 million to sign Ronaldo, then just 16 years old. The deal, worth more than $14 million U.S. dollars, was a record fee for a player of his age.
Ronaldo didn’t disappoint: He showed his promise early on in the 2004 FA Cup final, scoring the team’s first three goals and helping them capture the championship. In 2007, Ronaldo signed a five-year, £31 million contract.
A year later, Ronaldo again justified his high salary when he put together one of the club’s finest seasons in history, setting a franchise record for goals scored (42) and earning himself the FIFA World Player of the Year honor for 2008. In all, Ronaldo helped steer Manchester United to three Premier League titles.
Real Madrid
In 2009, the Spanish soccer club Real Madrid agreed to pay Manchester United a record $131 million for the chance to sign Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s commitment to Manchester United had come under constant question, and speculation swirled that he wanted to play elsewhere, so nobody was all that surprised to see Ronaldo leave.
“I know that they are going to demand a lot of me to be successful at the club, and I know that I’m going to have much more pressure than at Manchester United because I was there for many years,” Ronaldo told reporters. “But it means a new challenge and is going to help me be the best footballer.”
Ronaldo went on to compile an impressive list of individual honors and team trophies. In December 2016, he won his fourth Ballon d’Or award as the sport’s player of the year, beating out FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo’s 2016 wins included the European Championship, Champions League, and Club World Cup, plus individual awards from UEFA and France Football magazine. The following year, he claimed a fifth Ballon d’Or to tie the mark held by his longtime rival, Messi.
Juventus
After dropping hints that his time with Real was coming to an end, Ronaldo confirmed the rumors in July 2018 by signing with Italian Serie A club Juventus, which paid a $140 million transfer fee to his old Spanish club.
Ronaldo paid tribute to Real fans in an open letter on the club’s website, writing: “These years at Real Madrid and in this city of Madrid have quite possibly been the happiest years of my life. I only have feelings of great gratitude to this club, to the fans and to the city. I can only give thanks to all of them for the love and affection that I have received.”
By most measures, Ronaldo’s debut season with Juventus was a successful one. He scored 10 times in his first 14 games and headed home the lone goal in a win over AC Milan for the Supercoppa Italiana trophy. After leading his club to its eighth consecutive Serie A title, he was named the league’s MVP in May 2019.
Al-Nassr
Although he left the team after 2008, Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in August 2021. However, his stay didn’t last long.
In November 2022, the team announced it had reached a mutual agreement to terminate Ronaldo’s contract and that he had left the club effective immediately. The decision came after an eyebrow-raising TV interview with Piers Morgan in which Ronaldo said he “doesn’t respect” team manager Erik ten Hag.
The question of where the coveted free agent would play next lingered into the following month. Finally on December 30, 2022, the Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr FC announced it had landed Ronaldo with a contract lasting through the summer of 2025. According to reports, the annual value of the deal was worth about $200 million, including a $75 million playing salary and the chance to earn the rest through commercial agreements.
“In Europe my work, it’s done. I won everything,” Ronaldo said of the move. “I played the most important clubs in Europe, and for me now, it’s a new challenge.”
Ronaldo made his debut with Al-Nassr in late January 2023 and scored a league-high 35 goals across his first season. He said in August 2024 he plans to retire with the team within a couple years.
Portugal National Team
On July 10, 2016, Ronaldo added an emotional victory to his collection. As his national team’s captain, Ronaldo led Portugal to the European Championship final against France.
Although he was sidelined after suffering a knee injury 25 minutes into the match, Portugal went on to win the championship title 1-0, their first international trophy. Ronaldo’s teammates said that he motivated them as team captain from the sidelines. “He gave us a lot of confidence and he said, ‘Listen people, I’m sure we will win this Euro, so stay together and fight for it,’” fullback Cedric Soares said after Portugal’s victory.
“This is one of the happiest moments in my career,” Ronaldo commented. “I’ve always said I wanted to win a trophy with the national team and make history. And I did it. Thank God, things went well for us.”
Ronaldo got off to a tremendous start at the 2018 World Cup, blasting home three goals in an opening draw versus Spain, before adding another versus Morocco to set a European record with his 85th international goal. However, he was held scoreless in a 2-1 loss to Uruguay in the knockout stage, after which he declined to comment on his future with the national team.
He returned for the 2022 World Cup but started on the bench for the team’s knockout games in the round of 16 and quarterfinals. Despite entering the latter match, Ronaldo couldn’t help the team erase a 1-0 deficit against Morocco.
Playing for Portugal on September 5, 2024, Ronaldo became the first men’s player to score 900 career goals across international and club play in a 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Croatia.
His contributions to his country have been memorialized in a bronze bust of Ronaldo at the airport in Madeira, Portugal.
Height and Career Stats
Ronaldo, whose height is between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2 according to most estimates, has set numerous individual and league records during his career.
Of his 901 total goals as of September 8, 2024, he has scored 132 during official international competition—the most ever by any player, according to ESPN. He is also the only player ever to score goals at five different World Cups.
Here are some of Ronaldo’s other noteworthy stats, with records in bold, according to the UEFA Champions League catalog:
- Men’s international appearances: 214
- UEFA Champions League matches: 183
- UEFA Champions League goals: 140
- UEFA Champions League final wins: 5
- UEFA European Championship matches (with qualifiers): 74
- UEFA European Championship finals goals: 14
- FIFA World Cup matches: 22
- FIFA World Cup goals: 8
- Ballon d’Or wins: 5
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