CRISTIANO RONALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985),commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as aforward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and who serves as captain of thePortuguese national team. He became the most expensive footballer in history on his 2009 move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$131.6 million), a record that would later be reportedly broken by Gareth Bale, who joined Real Madrid in 2013 for £85 million (€100 million). In addition, Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
Ronaldo was the first player playing in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was awarded theEuropean Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, Onze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for the Goal of the Year in 2009.
Ronaldo is regarded to be one of the two best footballers in today's game and has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. He also holds records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid and most goals scored per minute in La Liga for a Real Madrid player. In January 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th club goal.
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's second-highest goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in five major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of the Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over the captaincy of the side in July 2008 and went on to captain Portugal to the semi-finals at the Euro 2012 and finished the competition as the joint best scorer.
He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by Johnny Berry,Steve Coppell, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, subsequently worn by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia. After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of the legendary Raúl.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
Ronaldo was the first player playing in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was awarded theEuropean Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, Onze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for the Goal of the Year in 2009.
Ronaldo is regarded to be one of the two best footballers in today's game and has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. He also holds records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid and most goals scored per minute in La Liga for a Real Madrid player. In January 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th club goal.
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's second-highest goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in five major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of the Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over the captaincy of the side in July 2008 and went on to captain Portugal to the semi-finals at the Euro 2012 and finished the competition as the joint best scorer.
He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by Johnny Berry,Steve Coppell, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, subsequently worn by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia. After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of the legendary Raúl.
Club
Manchester United
International
Portugal
Runner-up (1): 2004Bronze (1): 2012Individual
Records
Europe
Manchester United
- Premier League (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
- FA Cup (1): 2003–04; Runner-up (2): 2004–05, 2006–07
- Football League Cup (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
- FA Community Shield (1): 2007
- UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08; Runner-up (1): 2008–09
- FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008
- La Liga (1): 2011–12
- Copa del Rey (1): 2010–11; Runner-up (1): 2012–13
- Supercopa de España (1): 2012; Runner up (1): 2011
International
Portugal
Runner-up (1): 2004Bronze (1): 2012Individual
- UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (2): 2004, 2012
- Bravo Award (1): 2004
- FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
- PFA Young Player of the Year (1): 2006–07
- Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (3): 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08
- PFA Players' Player of the Year (2): 2006–07, 2007–08
- PFA Fans' Player of the Year (2): 2006–07, 2007–08
- FWA Footballer of the Year (2): 2006–07, 2007–08
- Barclays Player of the Year (2): 2006–07, 2007–08
- Premier League Player of the Month (4): November 2006, December 2006, January 2008, March 2008
- Premier League Golden Boot (1): 2007–08
- UEFA Champions League Topscorer (2): 2007–08, 2012–13
- UEFA Club Forward of the Year (1): 2007–08
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2007–08
- FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball (1): 2008
- UEFA Euro 2008 Man of the Match (1): Czech Republic vs Portugal
- Ballon d'Or (1): 2008
- FIFA World Player of the Year (1): 2008
- FIFPro World Player of the Year (1): 2008
- Onze d'Or (1): 2008
- World Soccer Player of the Year (1): 2008
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year (4): 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
- FIFA Puskás Award (1): 2009
- European Golden Shoe (2): 2007–08, 2010–11
- UEFA Team of the Year (7): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
- FIFA FIFPro World XI (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
- Goal.com Player of the Year (2): 2008, 2012
- FIFA World Cup 2010 Man of the Match (3): Côte d'Ivoire vs Portugal, Portugal vs Korea DPR, Portugal vs Brazil
- La Liga top scorer (1): 2010–11
- Copa del Rey top goalscorer (1): 2010–11
- Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano (1): 2011–12
- ESM Team of the Year (4): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12
- UEFA Euro 2012 Man of the Match (2): Portugal vs Netherlands, Czech Republic vs Portugal
- Ibero-American Community Trophy (1): 2011[345]
Records
Europe
- The only player to have won the European Golden Shoe in two different leagues (English Premier League and Spanish La Liga)
- First top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years
- Most consecutive UEFA Champions League matches scored in: 6 matches (shared with Marouane Chamakh and Burak Yılmaz)
- The highest number of goals scored to win the Premier League Golden Boot for a 38-game season: 31 goals (held jointly with Alan Shearer)
- Highest strike rate recording in winning the Premier League Golden Boot (shared with Didier Drogba)
- The first player to score against every team in a single season in La Liga
- The first player ever to score in six consecutive Clásicos
- Portugal all-time top scorer in UEFA Euro matches (6 goals, held jointly with Nuno Gomes)
- Most goals scored in a season in all competitions for Real Madrid: 60 goals
- Most goals scored in a single La Liga season for Real Madrid: 46 goals
- Most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season for Real Madrid: 12 goals
- Most hat-tricks in a single season for Real Madrid: 7 hat-tricks
- Fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals
- The highest goal ratio in La Liga for a Real Madrid player: (1.08)