Cristiano
Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (European
Portuguese: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁɔˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985)
is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of
all-time, Ronaldo has won
five Ballons
d'Or and four European Golden Shoes, both of which are
records for a European player. He has won 29 major trophies in his
career,
including six league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA European Championship, and one UEFA Nations League. A prolific goalscorer,
Ronaldo holds the records for the most goals scored in the UEFA Champions
League (128) and the joint-most goals scored in the UEFA European Championship
(9). He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,000 professional career
appearances and
has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and
country.
Born and raised in Madeira, Ronaldo began his
senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing
with Manchester United in 2003, aged 18.
After winning the FA
Cup in
his first season, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, the UEFA
Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup; at age 23, he won his
first Ballon d'Or. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the then-most expensive
association football transfer when signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth
€94 million (£80 million). There, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including
two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, and four UEFA Champions
League titles, and became the club's all-time top
goalscorer.
After joining Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or three
times, behind Lionel
Messi –
his perceived career rival – before winning back-to-back Ballons
d'Or from 2013–2014 and again from 2016–2017. After winning a third consecutive Champions League title in 2018,
Ronaldo became the first player to win the modern trophy five times. In 2018,
he signed for Juventus in a transfer worth an initial €100 million
(£88 million), the highest ever paid by an Italian club and the highest
ever paid for a player over 30 years old. In his debut season with the club, he
was integral in their 2018–19
Serie A win.
A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was
named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. He made
his senior debut in 2003 at age 18 and has since earned over 160 caps, including appearing and
scoring in ten major tournaments, becoming Portugal's most capped player and his country's all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first
international goal at UEFA Euro 2004 and helped Portugal
reach the final of the competition. He assumed the full captaincy in July 2008,
leading Portugal to their first-ever triumph in a major tournament by winning UEFA Euro 2016, and received the Silver
Boot as
the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament. He became the highest
European international goalscorer
of all-time in
2018.
One of the most marketable and famous
athletes in the world, Ronaldo was ranked the world's highest-paid
athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017
and the world's most famous athlete by ESPN from 2016 to
2019. Time included him on their list of
the 100
most influential people in the world in 2014. As of April 2020, Ronaldo is
also, the most followed user on both Instagram and Facebook. With earnings of
€720 million (£615 million) from 2010 to 2019, he was ranked second in Forbes list
of highest-paid athletes of
the decade.
Early life
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was
born in São Pedro, Funchal, on the Portuguese
island of Madeira, and grew up in Santo António, Funchal. He is the fourth
and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro (b. 1954), a
cook, and José Dinis Aveiro (1953–2005), a municipal gardener and a
part-time kit man. His
great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from the island
of São Vicente, Cape Verde.[ He has one older
brother, Hugo (b. 1975), and two older sisters, Elma (b. 1973) and Liliana
Cátia "Katia" (b. 1977), who is a singer. Ronaldo grew up in
a Catholic and impoverished
home, sharing a room with all his siblings. The name Ronaldo
was added to Cristiano's name in honour of his father's favourite movie actor,
Ronald Reagan, who was U.S. president at the time of Cristiano's birth.
As a child, Ronaldo played for amateur
team Andorinha from 1992 to 1995, where his father
was the kit man, and later spent two
years with Nacional. In 1997, aged 12, he
went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who signed him for a
fee of £1,500. He subsequently
moved from Madeira to Alcochete, near Lisbon, to join Sporting's
other youth players at the club's football academy. By age 14, Ronaldo
believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally and agreed with his
mother to cease his education in order to focus entirely on football. While popular with
other students at school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his
teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him. However, one year
later, he was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that could
have forced him to give up playing football. Ronaldo underwent
heart surgery where a laser was used to cauterise multiple cardiac pathways into one, altering
his resting
heart rate. He was discharged
from the hospital hours after the procedure and resumed training a few days
later.
Club career
Sporting
CP
Ronaldo memorabilia at
Sporting CP's museum
At age 16, Ronaldo was promoted from Sporting's
youth team by first-team manager László
Bölöni,
who was impressed with his dribbling. He subsequently
became the first player to play for the club's under-16, under-17 and under-18
teams, the B team, and the first team, all within a single season. A year later, on 7
October 2002, Ronaldo made his debut in the Primeira Liga, against Moreirense, and scored two goals in
their 3–0 win. Over the course of
the 2002–03 season, his representatives suggested the player
to Liverpool manager Gérard
Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Manager Arsène Wenger, who was interested in
signing the winger, met with him at Arsenal's grounds in November to
discuss a possible transfer.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, however, was determined
to acquire Ronaldo on a permanent move urgently, after Sporting defeated United
3–1 at the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in August 2003.
Initially, United had just planned to sign Ronaldo and then loan him back to
Sporting for a year. Having been
impressed by him, however, the Manchester United players urged Ferguson to sign
him. After the game, Ferguson agreed to pay Sporting £12.24 million for what he
considered to be "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever
seen. A decade after his
departure from the club, in April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting
him to become their 100,000th member.
Manchester
United
2003–07:
Development and breakthrough
Ronaldo became Manchester United's
first-ever Portuguese player when he signed before the 2003–04 season. His transfer fee of
£12.24 million made him, at the time, the most expensive teenager in
English football history. Although he
requested the number 28, his number at Sporting, he received the number 7 shirt, which had previously
been worn by such United players as George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Wearing the number
7 became an extra source of motivation for Ronaldo. A key element in
his development during his time in England proved to be his manager, Alex
Ferguson, of whom he later said, "He's been my father in sport, one of the
most important and influential factors in my career."
Ronaldo playing for
Manchester United against Chelsea in the 2005–06 Premier League season
Ronaldo made his debut in the Premier League in a 4–0 home
victory over Bolton Wanderers on 16 August 2003,
receiving a standing ovation when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute
for Nicky
Butt. His performance
earned praise from George Best, who hailed it as "undoubtedly the most
exciting debut" he had ever seen. Ronaldo scored his
first goal for Manchester United with a free-kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November. Three other league
goals followed in the second half of the campaign, the last of which
came against Aston Villa on the final day of
the season, a match in which he also received his first red card. Ronaldo ended his
first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3–0
victory over Millwall in the FA Cup final, earning his first
trophy.
At the start of 2005, Ronaldo played two of
his best matches of the 2004–05 season, producing a goal and an
assist against Aston Villa and scoring twice against rivals Arsenal. He played the full
120 minutes of the decisive match against Arsenal in the FA Cup final, which ended in a
goalless draw, and scored his attempt in the lost penalty shootout. He scored
Manchester United's 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October, their only strike
in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. Midway through the
season, in November, he signed a new contract which extended his previous deal
by two years to 2010. Ronaldo won his
second trophy in English football, the Football League Cup, after scoring the third
goal in United's 4–0 final victory over Wigan Athletic.
During his third season in England, Ronaldo
was involved in several incidents. He had a one-match ban imposed on him
by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans and was sent off in
the Manchester derby (a 3–1 defeat) for
kicking Manchester City's former United player Andy Cole. Ronaldo clashed
with a teammate, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took offence at the
winger's showboating style of play. Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in which he was
involved in an incident where club teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off, Ronaldo publicly
asked for a transfer, lamenting the lack of support he felt he had received
from the club over the incident. United, however,
denied the possibility of him leaving the club.
Although his World Cup altercation with
Rooney resulted in Ronaldo being booed throughout the 2006–07 season, it proved to be his
breakout year, as he broke the 20-goal barrier for the first time and won his
first Premier League title. An important factor in
this success was his one-to-one training by first-team coach René Meulensteen, who taught him to make
himself more unpredictable, improve his teamwork, call for the ball, and
capitalise on goalscoring opportunities rather than waiting for the chance to
score the aesthetically pleasing goals for which he was already known. He scored three
consecutive braces at the end of December, against Aston Villa (a victory that
put United on top of the league), Wigan Athletic and Reading. Ronaldo was named
the Premier League Player of the Month in November and
December, becoming only the third player to receive consecutive honours.
2007–08:
Collective and individual success
Ronaldo during a game in
the 2006–07 Premier League season
At the quarter-final stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo scored his
first-ever goals in his 30th match in the competition, finding the net
twice in a 7–1 victory over Roma. He subsequently
scored four minutes into the first semi-final leg against Milan, which ended in a 3–2
win, but was marked out of the second
leg as United lost 3–0 at the San Siro. He also helped
United reach the FA Cup final, but the decisive match
against Chelsea ended in a 1–0
defeat. Ronaldo scored the
only goal in the Manchester derby on 5 May 2007 (his 50th goal for the club),
as Manchester United claimed their first Premier League title in four years. As a result of his
performances, he amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won
the Professional Footballers' Association's Player's Player, Fans' Player, and Young Player of the Year awards, as well as
the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award, becoming the first
player to win all four main PFA and FWA honours. His club wages were
concurrently upgraded to £120,000 a week (£31 million total) as part of a
five-year contract extension with United. At the end of 2007,
Ronaldo was named runner-up to Kaká for the Ballon d'Or, and came third,
behind Kaká and Lionel
Messi,
in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo scored his first and only hat-trick for Manchester
United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United on 12 January 2008,
bringing United up to the top of the Premier League table. A month later, on
19 March, he captained United for the first time in a home win over Bolton and
scored both goals of the match. His second goal was
his 33rd of the campaign, which bettered George Best's total of 32 goals in the
1967–68 season, thus setting the club's new single-season record by a
midfielder. His 31 league goals
earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, as well as
the European Golden Shoe, which made him the
first winger to win the latter award. He additionally
received the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year
awards for the second consecutive season.
In the knockout stage of the Champions
League, Ronaldo scored the decisive goal against Lyon, which helped United advance to the
quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate, and, while playing
as a striker, scored with a header in the 3–0 aggregate victory over Roma. United advanced to
the final against Chelsea in
Moscow, where, despite his opening goal being negated by an equaliser and his
penalty being saved in the shoot-out, Manchester United
emerged victoriously. As the Champions League top
scorer,
Ronaldo was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all
competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific
campaign during his time in England. He missed three matches after headbutting
a Portsmouth player at the start
of the season, an experience he said taught him not to let opponents provoke
him. As rumours
circulated of Ronaldo's interest in moving to Real Madrid, United filed a
tampering complaint with governing body FIFA over Madrid's alleged pursuit of
their player, but they declined to take action. FIFA
president Sepp
Blatter asserted
that the player should be allowed to leave his club, describing the situation
as "modern slavery". Despite Ronaldo
publicly agreeing with Blatter, he remained at
United for another year.
2008–09:
Final season and continued success
Ronaldo in his final
season with Manchester United playing in a Premier League game against Liverpool
Ahead of the 2008–09 season, on 7 July, Ronaldo
underwent ankle surgery, which kept him out
of action for 10 weeks. Following his
return, he scored his 100th goal in all competitions for United with the first
of two free-kicks in a 5–0 win against Stoke City on 15 November, which meant he had
now scored against all 19 opposition teams in the Premier League at the time. At the close of
2008, Ronaldo helped United win the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, assisting the final-winning goal
against Liga
de Quito and
winning the Silver Ball in the process. He subsequently
became United's first Ballon d'Or winner since George
Best in 1968, and the first
Premier League player to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year.
His match-winning goal in the second leg
against Porto, a 40-yard strike,
earned him the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award, presented by FIFA in
recognition of the best goal of the year; he later called it
the best goal he had ever scored. United advanced to
the final in Rome, where he made
little impact in United's 2–0 defeat to Barcelona. Ronaldo ended his
time in England with nine trophies, as United claimed they're third successive
Premier League title and a Football League Cup. He finished the
campaign with 26 goals in all competitions, 16 goals fewer than the previous
season, in four more appearances. His final ever goal
for Manchester United came on 10 May 2009 with a free kick in the Manchester
derby at Old
Trafford.
Real
Madrid
2009–13:
World record transfer and La Liga championship
As his usual number 7 was
unavailable, Ronaldo wore number 9 during his debut
season at
Madrid. After Raúl departed the club, Ronaldo was handed
the number 7 shirt before the 2010–11
season.
Ahead of the 2009–10
season,
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a world-record transfer fee at the time, of
£80 million (€94 million). His contract, which
ran until 2015, was worth €11 million per year and contained a
€1 billion buy-out clause. At least 80,000
fans attended his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu, surpassing the 25-year
record of 75,000 fans who had welcomed Diego Maradona at Napoli. Since club
captain, Raúl already wore the number 7 (the number
Ronaldo wore at Manchester United), Ronaldo received the number 9 shirt, which was presented
to him by former Madrid player Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Ronaldo made his debut in La Liga on 29 August 2009,
against Deportivo La Coruña, and scored from the
penalty spot in Madrid's 3–2 home win. He scored in each
of his first four league fixtures with the club, the first Madrid player to do
so. His first Champions
League goals for the club followed with two free-kicks in the first group match
against Zürich. His strong start to
the season, however, was interrupted when he suffered an ankle injury in
October while on international duty, which kept him sidelined for seven weeks. A week after his
return, he received his first red card in Spain in a match against Almería. Midway through the
season, Ronaldo placed second in the running for the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind
Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Madrid's historic
rivals. He finished the campaign with 33 goals in all competitions, including a
hat-trick in a 4–1 win against Mallorca on 5 May 2010, his first
in the Spanish competition. His first season at
Real Madrid ended trophyless.
Following Raúl's departure, Ronaldo was
handed the number 7 shirt for Real Madrid before the 2010–11
season. His subsequent
return to his Ballon d'Or-winning form was epitomised when, for the first time
in his career, he scored four goals in a single match during a 6–1 rout
against Racing Santander on 23 October. His haul concluded
a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the
Champions League, and two for Portugal) totalling 11 goals, the most he had
scored in a single month. Ronaldo subsequently scored further hat-tricks
against Athletic
Bilbao, Levante, Villarreal, and Málaga. Despite his
performance, he did not make the podium for the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or at the end of 2010.
During a historical series of four Clásicos against rivals
Barcelona in April 2011, Ronaldo scored twice to equal his personal record of
42 goals in all competitions in a single season. Although he failed to find the
net during Madrid's eventual elimination in the Champions League semi-finals,
he equalised from the penalty spot in the return league game and scored the
match-winning goal in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final, winning his first
trophy in Spain. Over the next two
weeks, Ronaldo scored another four-goal haul against Sevilla, a hat-trick
against Getafe and a brace of free-kicks against Villarreal, taking his league total to 38 goals, which equalled
the record for most goals scored in a season held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez. His two goals in
the last match of the season, against Almería, made him the first
player in La Liga to score 40 goals. In addition to
the Pichichi
Trophy,
Ronaldo consequently won the European Golden Shoe for a second time, becoming
the first player to win the award in two different leagues.
During the following campaign, the 2011–12
season,
Ronaldo surpassed his previous goalscoring feats to achieve a new personal best
of 60 goals across all competitions. His 100th goal for
Real Madrid came at Camp
Nou in
the Supercopa de España, though Barcelona
claimed the trophy 5–4 on aggregate. He regained a place
on the FIFA Ballon d'Or podium, as
runner-up to Messi, after scoring hat-tricks against Real Zaragoza, Rayo Vallecano, Málaga, Osasuna, and Sevilla, the last
of which put Madrid on top of the league by the season's midway point. Despite two goals
from Ronaldo, Madrid was subsequently defeated by Barcelona, 4–3, on aggregate
in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. He again scored twice, including a
penalty, in the Champions League semi-finals against Bayern Munich, resulting in a 3–3
draw, but his penalty kick in the shootout was saved by Manuel Neuer, leading to Madrid's
elimination.
Ronaldo found greater team success in the
league, as he helped Real Madrid win their first La Liga title in four years, with
a record 100 points. Following a hat-trick against Levante, further increasing
Madrid's lead over Barcelona, he scored his 100th
league goal for Madrid in a 5–1 win over Real Sociedad on 24 March 2012, a
milestone he reached in just 92 matches across three seasons, breaking the
previous club record held by Ferenc Puskás. Another hat-trick
in the Madrid
derby against Atlético
Madrid brought
his total to 40 league goals, equalling his record of the previous season. On 21 April Ronaldo
scored the winner in a 2–1 victory over Barcelona at the Camp Nou, which saw him mocking
the hostile crowd with a "calm down" gesture during his goal celebration – a celebration he
would repeat against Barca four years later. His final league the goal of the campaign, against Mallorca, took his total to 46 goals, four short
of the new record set by Messi, and earned him the distinction of being the first player to score against all 19 opposition teams
in a single season in La Liga.
Ronaldo began the 2012–13
season by
lifting the Supercopa de España, his third trophy in
Spain. With a goal in each leg by the Portuguese, Madrid won the Spanish Super
Cupon away goals following a 4–4 aggregate draw against Barcelona. Although Ronaldo
publicly commented that he was unhappy with a "professional issue"
within the club, prompted by his refusal to celebrate his 150th goal for
Madrid, his goalscoring
rate did not suffer. After netting a hat-trick, including two penalties,
against Deportivo La Coruña, he scored his first hat-trick in the
Champions League in a 4–1 victory over Ajax. Four days later, he
became the first player to score in six successive Clásicos when
he hit a brace in a 2–2 draw at Camp Nou. His performances in
2012 again saw Ronaldo voted second in the running for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, finishing runner-up to
four-time winner Messi.
2013–15:
Consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or wins and La Décima
Following the 2012–13 winter break, Ronaldo
captained Real Madrid for the first time in an official match, scoring a brace
to lift 10-man Madrid to a 4–3 victory over Real Sociedad on 6 January. He subsequently
became the first non-Spanish player in 60 years to captain Madrid in El
Clásico on 30 January, a match which also marked his 500th club
appearance. Three days prior,
he had scored his 300th club goal as part of a perfect hat-trick against
Getafe. He scored his 200th the goal for Real Madrid on 8 May in a 6–2 win against Málaga, reaching the
landmark in 197 games. He helped Madrid
reach the Copa del Rey final by scoring twice
in El Clásico, which marked the sixth successive match at Camp Nou
in which he had scored, a Real Madrid
record. In the final, he
headed the opening goal of an eventual 2–1 defeat to Atlético Madrid but was shown
a red card for violent conduct. In the first
knockout round of the Champions League, Ronaldo faced his former club
Manchester United for the first time. After scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw
at the Santiago Bernabéu, he scored the
match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory at Old Trafford, his first return to his
former home ground. He did not celebrate scoring against his former club
as a mark of respect. After scoring three
goals against Galatasaray in the quarters, he scored Madrid's only goal in the
4–1 away defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals,
but failed to increase his side's 2–0 victory in the second leg, as they were
eliminated at the semi-final stage for the third consecutive year.
Ronaldo scored a record
17 UEFA Champions League goals during
the 2013–14 La Décima season
At the start of the 2013–14
season,
Ronaldo signed a new contract that extended his stay by three years to 2018,
with a salary of €17 million net, making him briefly the highest-paid the player in football. He was joined at
the club by winger Gareth Bale, whose world record a transfer fee of €100 million surpassed the fee Madrid had paid for Ronaldo
four years prior. Together with
striker Karim
Benzema,
they formed an attacking trio popularly dubbed "BBC", an acronym of
Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano, and a playoff the name of the public service broadcaster. By late November,
Ronaldo had scored 32 goals from 22 matches for both club and country,
including hat-tricks against Galatasaray, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Northern Ireland, and Sweden. He ended 2013 with
69 goals in 59 appearances, his highest year-end goal tally. He received
the FIFA Ballon d'Or, an amalgamation of the
Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award, for the first time in
his career.
Concurrently with his individual
achievements, Ronaldo enjoyed his greatest team success in Spain to date, as he
helped Real Madrid win La Décima, their tenth European Cup. His
goal in a 3–0 home win over Borussia Dortmund (his 100th Champions League
match) took his total for the season to 14 goals, equalling the record Messi
had set two years before. After hitting a
brace in a 4–0 defeat of Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, he scored from the
penalty spot in the 120th minute of the 4–1 final victory over Atlético Madrid,
becoming the first player to score in two European Cup finals for two different
winning teams. His overall
performance in the final was subdued as a result of patellar tendinitis and related
hamstring problems, which had plagued him in the last months of the campaign.
Ronaldo played the final against medical advice, later commenting: "In
your life you do not win without sacrifices and you must take risks." As the Champions
League top goalscorer for the third time, with a record 17 goals, he was named
the UEFA Best Player in Europe.
In the Copa del Rey, Ronaldo helped Madrid
reach the final by scoring two
penalties against Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón, the first of which
meant he had now scored in every single minute of a 90-minute football match. His continued
issues with his knee and thigh caused him to miss the final, where Real Madrid
defeated Barcelona 2–1 to claim the trophy. Ronaldo scored 31
goals in 30 league games, which earned him the Pichichi and the European Golden
Shoe, receiving the latter award jointly with Liverpool striker Luis Suárez. Among his haul was
his 400th career goal, in 653 appearances for club and country, which came with
a brace against Celta Vigo on 6 January; he dedicated his goals to
compatriot Eusébio, who had died two days
before. A last-minute,
back-heeled volley scored against Valencia on 4 May (his 50th the goal in all competitions) was recognised as the best goal of the season by
the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, which additionally
named Ronaldo the Best The player in La Liga.
During the next campaign, the 2014–15
season,
Ronaldo set a new personal best of 61 goals in all competitions, starting with
both goals in Real Madrid's 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup. He subsequently
achieved his best-ever goalscoring start to a league campaign, with a record 15
goals in the first eight rounds of La Liga. His record 23rd a hat-trick in La Liga, scored against Celta Vigo on 6 December, made him the
fastest player to reach 200 goals in the Spanish league, as he reached the milestone in only his 178th game. After lifting
the FIFA Club World Cup with Madrid in
Morocco, Ronaldo received a
second successive FIFA Ballon d'Or, joining Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten as a three-time
Ballon d'Or winner.
2015–17:
All-time Real Madrid top scorer and La Undécima
Ronaldo scored a personal
best of 61 goals in all competitions during the 2014–15 season.
Madrid finished in second place in La Liga
in the 2014–15 season and exited at the semi-final stage in the Champions
League. In the latter
competition, Ronaldo extended his run of scoring away to a record 12 matches
with his strike in a 2–0 win against Schalke 04. He scored both of
his side's goals in the semi-finals against Juventus, where Madrid was
eliminated 2–3 on aggregate. With 10 goals, he
finished the campaign as top scorer for a third consecutive season, alongside
Messi and Neymar. In La Liga, for the
first time in his career, he scored five goals in one game, including an
eight-minute hat-trick, in a 9–1 rout of Granada on 5 April. His 300th goal for
his club followed three days later in a 2–0 win against Rayo Vallecano. Subsequent
hat-tricks against Sevilla, Espanyol, and Getafe took his
number of hat-tricks for Real Madrid to 31, surpassing Di Stéfano's club record
of 28. He finished the
season with 48 goals, winning a second consecutive Pichichi and the European
Golden Shoe for a record fourth time.
At the start of his seventh season at Real
Madrid, the 2015–16
campaign,
Ronaldo became the club's all-time top scorer, first in the league and
then in all competitions. His five-goal haul in a 6–0 away win over Espanyol on
12 September took his tally in La Liga to 230 goals in 203 games, surpassing
the club's previous record-holder, Raúl. A month later, on
17 October, he again surpassed Raúl when he scored the second goal in a 3–0 the defeat of Levante at the Bernabéu to take his overall total for the club to 324
goals. Ronaldo also became
the all-time top scorer in
the Champions League with a hat-trick in the first group
match against Shakhtar Donetsk, having finished the
previous season level with Messi on 77 goals. Two goals against
Malmö FF in a 2–0 away win on 30 September saw him reach the milestone of 500
career goals for both club and country. He subsequently became
the first player to score double figures in the competition's group stage,
setting the record at 11 goals, including another four-goal haul against Malmö.
By March 2016, Ronaldo
had scored 252 goals in 228 matches in La Liga to become the competition's
second-highest goalscorer.
Ronaldo's four goals in a 7–1 home win over
Celta de Vigo on 5 March 2016 took his total to 252 goals in La Liga, becoming
the competition's second-highest scorer in history behind Messi. He scored a
hat-trick against VfL Wolfsburg to send his club
into the Champions League semi-finals. The treble took his
tally in the competition to 16 goals, making him the top scorer for the fourth
consecutive season, and the fifth overall. Suffering apparent
fitness issues, Ronaldo gave a poorly-received performance in the final against Atlético
Madrid, in a repeat of 2014 final, though his penalty in the subsequent
shoot-out secured La Undécima, Madrid's 11th victory. For the sixth
successive year, he ended the season having scored more than 50 goals across
all competitions. For his efforts
during the season, he received the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award for a second time.
Ronaldo missed Real Madrid's first three
matches of the 2016–17
season,
including the 2016 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, as
he continued to rehabilitate the knee injury he suffered against France in the final
of Euro 2016. On 15 September, he
did not celebrate his late free-kick equaliser against Sporting CP in the Champions
League, with Ronaldo stating post-match, "they made me who I am." On 19 November, he
scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 away win against Atlético Madrid, making him the
all-time top scorer in the Madrid derby with 18 goals. On 15 December,
Ronaldo scored his 500th club career goal in the 2–0 victory over Club América in the semi-finals
of the FIFA Club World Cup. He then scored a
hat-trick in the 4–2 win over Japanese club Kashima Antlers in the final. Ronaldo finished
the tournament as top scorer with four goals and was also named player of the
tournament He won the Ballon d'Or for a fourth time
and the inaugural Best FIFA Men's Player, a revival of the
former FIFA World Player of the Year, largely owing to his
success with Portugal in winning Euro 2016.
2017–18:
Fifth Champions League title and fifth Ballon d'Or
Ronaldo with Cristina Cifuentes, President of the Community of Madrid, during Champions League
title celebrations in Madrid in 2016
In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League quarter-final
against Bayern Munich in April, Ronaldo scored both goals in a 2–1 away win
which saw him make history in becoming the first player to reach 100 goals in
UEFA club competition. In the second leg
of the quarter-finals, Ronaldo scored a ‘perfect’ hat-trick and reached his
100th UEFA Champions League goal, becoming the first player to do so as Real
Madrid again defeated Bayern 4–2 after extra-time. On 2 May, Ronaldo
scored another hat-trick as Real Madrid defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 in the
Champions League semi-final first leg. On 17 May, Ronaldo overtook Jimmy Greaves as the all-time top
scorer in the top five European leagues, scoring twice against Celta de Vigo. He finished the
season with 42 goals in all competitions as he helped Madrid to win their first
La Liga title
since 2012. In the 2017 Champions League final, Ronaldo scored two
goals in the victory against Juventus and became the top goalscorer for the
fifth-straight season, and sixth overall, with 12 goals, while also becoming
the first player to score in three finals in the Champions League era as well
as reaching his 600th senior career goal. Madrid also became
the first team to win back-to-back finals in the Champions League era.
Ronaldo in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final, his final game for Real
Madrid
At the start of the 2017–18 season, Ronaldo
scored Madrid's second goal in a 3–1 Supercopa de España first-leg victory
over Barcelona at Camp Nou. On 23 October, his
performances in the first half of 2017 saw him claim his fifth FIFA Player of
the Year award by receiving The Best FIFA Men's Player award for the
second consecutive year. On 6 December, he
became the first player to score in all six Champions League group stage
matches with a curling strike at home to Borussia Dortmund. A day later,
Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or for a fifth time,
receiving the award on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. On 3 March 2018, he
scored two goals in a 3–1 home win over Getafe, his first being his 300th La
Liga goal in his 286th La Liga appearance, making him the fastest player to
reach this landmark and only the second player to do so after Lionel Messi. On 18 March, he
reached his 50th career hat-trick, scoring four goals in a 6–3 win
against Girona.
On 3 April, Ronaldo scored the first two
goals in a 3–0 away win against Juventus in the quarter-finals of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, with his second goal
being an acrobatic bicycle kick. The goal, described
as a "PlayStation goal" by
Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli, garnered him a standing
ovation from the Juventus fans in the stadium, as well as a plethora of
plaudits from peers, pundits and coaches. On 11 April, he
scored the goal Real Madrid needed to advance to the semi-final, in the second
leg of the Champions League quarter-final at home to Juventus, from a The 98th-minute injury-time penalty in a 3–1 defeat, with an overall 4–3 aggregate
win. It was also his the tenth goal against Juventus, a Champions League record against a single club. In the final of the tournament, on 26 May, Real Madrid
defeated Liverpool 3–1, winning Ronaldo his fifth Champions League title as he
became the first player to win the trophy five times. He finished as the
top scorer of the tournament for the sixth consecutive season, ending the
campaign with 15 goals.[ After the final,
Ronaldo referred to his time with the Champions League winners in the past
tense, sparking speculation that he could leave Real Madrid.
Juventus
2018–19:
Debut season and first Serie A title
Ronaldo playing for
Juventus in 2019
On 10 July 2018, Ronaldo signed a four-year
contract with Italian club Juventus after completing a
€100 million transfer, which included an additional €12 million in other fees, and solidarity contributions to Ronaldo's youth
clubs. The transfer was the highest ever for a player over 30 years old and the highest
ever paid by an Italian club. Upon signing,
Ronaldo cited his need for a new challenge as his rationale for departing Real
Madrid, but later
attributed the transfer to the lack of support he felt was shown by the club
President Florentino Pérez.
On 16 September, Ronaldo scored his first
goals for Juventus in his fourth appearance for the club in a 2–1 home win
over Sassuolo. His second was the 400th league goal of
his career. On 19 September, in
his first Champions League match for Juventus,
he was sent off in the 29th minute for "violent conduct", his first the red card in 154 Champions League appearances. Ronaldo became the
first player in history to win 100 Champions League matches, setting up Mario
Mandžukić's
winner in a 1–0 home victory over Valencia, which sealed Juventus's passage to
the knock-out stages of the competition. In December, he
scored his tenth Serie A goal of the season, from the penalty spot, netting the final goal in a 3–0 away win over rivals Fiorentina; with this goal, Ronaldo
became the first Juventus player since John Charles in 1957 to score 10
goals in his first 14 league games for the club. After placing
second in both the UEFA Men's Player of the Year and The Best FIFA Men's Player for the first time
in three years, behind Luka Modrić, Ronaldo performances in
2018 also saw him voted runner-up for the 2018 Ballon d'Or, finishing once again
behind his former Real Madrid teammate.
Ronaldo won his first trophy with the club
in January 2019, the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana, after he scored the
game-winning and only goal from a header against A.C. Milan.[241] On 10 February,
Ronaldo scored in a 3–0 away win over Sassuolo; the ninth consecutive away game
in which he had scored for Juventus in the league, which enabled him to
equal Giuseppe Signori's single-season Serie A
record of most consecutive away games with at least
one goal. On 12 March,
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win against Atlético Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16,
helping Juventus overcome a two-goal deficit to reach the quarter-finals. The following
month, Ronaldo scored his 125th goal in the competition, opening the scoring in
a 1–1 away draw in the first leg of Juventus' quarter-final against Ajax, on 10 April. In the second leg
in Turin on 16 April, he scored the opening goal of the match in the first
half, but Juventus eventually lost the match 2–1 and were eliminated from the
competition. On 20 April,
Ronaldo played in the Scudetto clinching game
against rivals Fiorentina as Juventus won
their eighth successive Serie A title after a 2–1
home win, thereby becoming the first player to win league titles in England, Spain and Italy. On 27 April, he
scored his 600th club goal, the equaliser in a 1–1 away draw against rivals Inter. Finishing his first
Serie A campaign with 21 goals and 8 assists, Ronaldo won the inaugural Serie A Award for Most Valuable
Player.
2019–20: The second season in Italy
Ronaldo scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season for Juventus in a
4–3 home win over Napoli in Serie A on 31
August 2019. On 23 September, he
came in 3rd place for the 2019 Best FIFA Men's Player Award. On 1 October, he
reached several milestones in Juventus's 3–0 group stage win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League: his goal during the match saw him score for the 14th consecutive Champions League season, equalling
Raúl and Messi's record; he also broke Iker Casillas’ record for most
Champions League wins of all time and equalled Raúl's record of scoring
against 33 different Champions League opponents. On 6 November, in a
2–1 away win against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions
League group stage, he equalled Paolo Maldini as the second-most capped player
in UEFA club competitions with 174 appearances. On 18 December,
Ronaldo leapt to a height of 8.39 ft (2.56m) – higher than the crossbar
(8 ft) – before heading the winning goal in a 2–1 away win for Juventus against Sampdoria in Serie A.
Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick
on 6 January 2020, in a 4–0 home win against Cagliari. His 56th career
hat-trick, he became only the second player after Alexis Sánchez to score hat-tricks
in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.[254] On 2 February, he
scored twice from the penalty spot in a 3–0 home win over Fiorentina,
equalling David
Trezeguet's the club record of nine consecutive appearances in Serie A with at least one goal. He broke the club
record six days later, when he scored in his tenth consecutive league game, a
2–1 away defeat to Verona. On 22 February,
Ronaldo scored for a record-equalling 11th consecutive
Serie A game (a record shared with Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella), in what was his
1,000th senior professional game, in a 2–1 away win for Juventus against SPAL.
International career
2001–07:
Youth level and early international career
Ronaldo began his international career with
Portugal at the 2001 European Youth
Summer Olympic Festival, debuting in a 3–1 defeat to Finland. The following year
he would represent his country under-17 side at the 2002 UEFA European
Under-17 Football Championship, where they failed to progress past the
group stage. Ronaldo also
featured in the Olympic squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics, scoring one goal in the tournament, though the team was eliminated in the first round, finishing bottom
of their group with three points after 4–2 defeats to eventual
semi-finalists Iraq and
quarter-finalists Costa Rica. During his
international youth career, Ronaldo would go on to represent the under-15
team, under-17, under-20, under-21, and under-23 national sides,
amassing 34 youth caps and scoring 18 goals overall.
At age 18, Ronaldo made his first senior
appearance for Portugal in a 1–0 victory
over Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003. He was subsequently
called up for UEFA
Euro 2004,
held in his home country, and scored his first international goal in a 2–1
group stage loss to eventual champions Greece. After converting
his penalty in a shootout against England in the
quarter-finals, he helped Portugal
reach the final by scoring the opening goal in a 2–1
win over the Netherlands. He was featured in
the team of the tournament, having provided two
assists in addition to his two goals.
Ronaldo was Portugal's second-highest
scorer in the European qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with seven goals. During the
tournament, he scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick
in Portugal's second match of the group stage. In the
quarter-final against England, his Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney was
sent off for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. Although the referee
later clarified that the red card was only due to Rooney's infraction, the English media
speculated that Ronaldo had influenced his decision by aggressively
complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at Portugal's bench following
Rooney's dismissal. Ronaldo went on to
score the vital winning penalty during the penalty shoot-out which sent
Portugal into the semi-finals. Ronaldo was
subsequently booed during their 1–0 semi-final defeat to France. FIFA's Technical
Study Group overlooked him for the tournament's Best Young Player award and
handed it to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing his behaviour as
a factor in the decision. Following 2006
World Cup, Ronaldo would go on to represent Portugal in four qualifying games
for Euro
2008,
scoring two goals in the process.
2007–12:
Assuming the captaincy
Ronaldo, pictured playing
against Germany at Euro 2012, was made captain for
Portugal in 2008.
One day after his 22nd birthday,
Ronaldo captained Portugal for the
first time in a friendly game against Brazil on 6 February 2007, as requested
by Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos
Silva, who had died two days earlier. Ahead of Euro 2008,
he was given the number 7 shirt for the first time. While he scored
eight goals in the qualification, the second-highest
tally, he scored just one goal in the tournament, netting the second goal of
their 3–1 win in the group stage match against the Czech Republic; in the same game, he
also set-up Portugal's third goal in injury time, which was scored by Quaresma,
and was named man of the match for his performance. Portugal was
eliminated in the quarter-finals with a 3–2 loss against eventual finalists
Germany.
After Portugal's unsuccessful performance
in the European Championship, Luiz Felipe Scolari was replaced as
coach by Carlos Queiroz, formerly the assistant manager at United. Queiroz made
Ronaldo the squad's permanent captain in July 2008. Ronaldo failed to
score a single goal in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, as Portugal narrowly avoided a premature
elimination from the tournament with a play-off victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the group stage
of the World Cup, he was named man of the match in all three matches
against Ivory Coast, North Korea, and Brazil. His only goal of
the tournament came in their 7–0 rout of North Korea, which marked his first
international goal in 16 months. Portugal's World
Cup ended with a 1–0 loss against eventual champions Spain in the round of 16.
Ronaldo scored seven goals in the qualification for Euro 2012, including two strikes
against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs, to send Portugal into the
tournament, where they were drawn in a "group of death". In the last group
stage game against the Netherlands, Ronaldo scored twice to secure a 2–1
victory. He scored a header
in the quarter-final against the Czech Republic to give his team a 1–0 win. In both games
against the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, he was named man of the match. After the
semi-finals against Spain ended scoreless, with Ronaldo having sent three shots
over the bar, Portugal was
eliminated in the penalty shootout. Ronaldo did not take a penalty as he had
been slated to take the unused fifth slot, a decision that
drew criticism. As the joint top
scorer with three goals, alongside five other players, he was again included in
the team of the tournament.
2012–16:
All-time Portugal top scorer and European champion
Ronaldo evading Luka Modrić during a friendly
match against Croatia in 2013
During the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo scored a total of eight goals. A
qualifying match on 17 October 2012, a 1–1 draw against Northern Ireland, earned him his 100th cap. His first
international hat-trick also came against Northern Ireland, when he found the
net three times in a 15-minute spell of a 4–2 qualifying victory on 6 September
2013. After Portugal
failed to qualify during the regular campaign, Ronaldo scored all four of the
team's goals in the play-offs against Sweden – billed as a
battle between Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović – which ensured
their place at the tournament. His hat-trick in
the second leg took his international tally to 47 goals, equaling Pauleta's record. Ronaldo
subsequently scored twice in a 5–1 friendly win over Cameroon on 5 March 2014 to
become his country's all-time top scorer.
Ronaldo took part in the tournament despite
suffering from patellar tendinitis and a related thigh injury, potentially risking
his career. Ronaldo later
commented: "If we had two or three Cristiano Ronaldos in the team I would
feel more comfortable. But we don't." Despite ongoing
doubts over his fitness, being forced to abort practise twice, Ronaldo played the
full 90 minutes of the opening match against Germany, though he was unable to
prevent a 4–0 defeat. After assisting an
injury-time 2–2 equaliser against the United States, he scored a late
match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Ghana. His 50th international goal made him the first
Portuguese to play and score in three World Cups. Portugal was
eliminated from the tournament at the close of the group stage on goal
difference.
Ronaldo playing for
Portugal in their Euro
2016 quarter-final
match against Poland
Ronaldo scored five goals, including a
hat-trick against Armenia, in the qualification for Euro 2016. With the only goal
in another victory over Armenia on 14 November 2014, he reached 23 goals in the
European Championship, including qualifying matches, to become the
competition's all-time leading
goalscorer. At the start of the
tournament, however, Ronaldo failed to convert his chances in Portugal's draws
against Iceland and Austria, despite taking a total
of 20 shots on goal. In the latter match, he overtook Luís Figo as his nation's most capped player with his 128th
international appearance, which ended scoreless after he missed a penalty in
the second half. With two goals and
an assist in the last match of the group stage, a 3–3 draw against Hungary, Ronaldo became the
first player to score in four European Championships, having made a record 17 appearances in the tournament. Though placed third
in their group behind Hungary and Iceland, his team qualified for the knockout
round as a result of the competition's newly expanded format.
In Portugal's first knockout match,
Ronaldo's only attempt on goal was parried by Croatia's goalkeeper into the
path of Ricardo Quaresma, whose finish then
secured a 1–0 victory late in extra time. After his team
progressed past Poland on penalties, Ronaldo became the
first player to participate in three European Championship semi-finals; he scored the
opening goal and assisted a second in a 2–0 win against Wales, equaling Michel Platini as the
competition's all-time top scorer with nine goals. In the final against hosts France, Ronaldo was
forced off after just 25 minutes following a challenge from Dimitri Payet. After multiple
treatments and attempts to play on, he has stretchered off the pitch and
replaced by Quaresma. During extra time, substitute Eder scored in the 109th
minute to earn Portugal a 1–0 victory. As team captain,
Ronaldo later lifted the trophy in celebration of his country's first-ever
triumph in a major tournament. He was awarded the Silver
Boot as
the joint second-highest goalscorer, with three goals and three assists, and
was named to the team of the tournament for the third time in his career.
2016–18:
Post-European Championship victory, and World Cup
Following the Euro 2016 success, Ronaldo
scored six goals in the opening rounds of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with four being
against Andorra and two
against Latvia. These goals brought his
international tally to 68 goals, putting level with Gerd Müller and Robbie Keane as the
fourth-highest European international goalscorer of all-time. He played his first
professional match on his home island of Madeira on 28 March 2017 at age 32,
opening a 2–3 friendly defeat to Sweden at the Estádio dos Barreiros. With the goal, he tied
with Miroslav
Klose on
71 goals as the third-highest scoring European in international football.
In Portugal's opening match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup against Mexico on 17 June,
Cristiano Ronaldo set-up Quaresma's opening goal in a 2–2 draw. Three days later,
he scored in a 1–0 win over hosts Russia. On 24 June, he
scored from a penalty in a 4–0 win over New Zealand, which saw Portugal top
their group and advance to the semi-finals of the competition. With his 75th the international goal, Ronaldo also equalled Sándor Kocsis as the
second-highest European international goalscorer of all-time, behind only
Ferenc Puskás. He was named man of
the match in all three of Portugal's group stage matches. Ronaldo left the
competition early: after Chile defeated Portugal
3–0 on penalties in the semi-finals, he was allowed to
return home to be with his newborn children. Therefore, he
missed Portugal's third-place play-off match in which
Portugal defeated Mexico 2–1 after extra time.
Ronaldo evades an Iran defender in the
group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup
On 31 August 2017, Ronaldo scored a
hat-trick in a 5–1 win in a World Cup qualifier over the Faroe Islands, which saw him overtake
Pelé and equal Hussein
Saeed as
the joint-fifth-highest goalscorer in international football with 78 goals. These goals brought
his tally in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers to 14, equalling Predrag Mijatović's record for most goals
in a single UEFA senior men's qualifying campaign, and also saw him break the
record for the most goals scored in a single European qualifying group,
overtaking the previous record of 13 goals set by David Healy and Robert Lewandowski. Ronaldo's hat-trick
took his World Cup qualifying goals total to 29, making him the highest scorer
in European World Cup qualifiers, ahead of Andriy Shevchenko, and the highest
goalscorer in World Cup qualifying and finals matches combined, with 32 goals,
ahead of Miroslav Klose. Ronaldo later added
to this tally by scoring a goal against Andorra in a 2–0 victory.
In the build-up to the 2018 World Cup, Portugal hosted friendlies against Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria. Ronaldo featured in the
final of the three matches in which he made his 150th international appearance. On 15 June 2018,
Ronaldo became the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup
match, helping Portugal secure a 3–3 draw against Spain in their opening match
at the World Cup. In doing so, he also became the first Portuguese player to
score a goal in four World Cups and one of four players to do so in total. His third goal saw
him curl in a 30-yard free-kick with two minutes remaining for the equaliser. His hat-trick also
drew him level with Ferenc Puskás as the highest
European goalscorer of all-time, with 84 international goals. In Portugal's
second game on 20 June, Ronaldo scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory
against Morocco, breaking Puskás'
record. In the final group
match against Iran on 25 June, Ronaldo
missed a penalty in an eventual 1–1 draw which saw Portugal progress to the
second round as group runners-up behind Spain. On 30 June,
Portugal was eliminated following a 2–1 defeat to Uruguay in the last 16. For his
performances throughout the tournament, Ronaldo was later named to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Dream Team.
2018–present:
Brief hiatus, and Nations League title
After the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo
missed six international matches, including the entire league phase of
the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo played for
hosts Portugal in the inaugural Nations League Finals in June 2019. In
the semi-finals on 5 June, he scored a hat-trick against Switzerland to secure a spot
in the final. Upon netting the
match's opening goal, he became the first player to score in 10 consecutive
international competitions, breaking the record of nine he previously shared
with Ghana's Asamoah
Gyan. In the final of the
tournament four days later, Portugal defeated Netherlands 1–0.
On 10 September 2019, Ronaldo scored four goals
in a 5–1 away win over Lithuania in a Euro 2020 qualifying match; in the process, he
overtook Robbie Keane (23 goals) as the player with most goals in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers, setting a new record
with 25 goals. On that occasion,
Ronaldo also set a new record as the player who scored against the most
national teams, 40, while also
completing his eighth international hat-trick. On 14 October, he
scored his 700th senior career goal for club and country from the penalty spot,
in his 974th senior career appearance, a 2–1 away loss to Ukraine in a Euro 2020
qualifier. On 17 November,
Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal in a 2–0 win over Luxembourg,
leading Portugal to qualify for Euro 2020.
Player profile
Style
of play
A versatile attacker, Ronaldo is capable of
playing on either wing as well as through the centre of the pitch, and, while
ostensibly right-footed, is very strong with both feet. He ranks among the
world's fastest footballers, both with and without the ball. Tactically, Ronaldo
has undergone several evolutions throughout his career. While at Sporting and
during his first season at Manchester United, he was typically deployed as a
traditional winger on the right side
of midfield, where he regularly looked to deliver crosses into the penalty
area. In this position, he was able to use his pace and acceleration, agility,
and technical skills to take on opponents in one-on-one situations. Ronaldo
became noted for his dribbling and flair, often
displaying an array of tricks and feints, such as the step overs and so-called
'chops' that became his trademark; he has also been
known to use the flip-flap, or
"elastic", against his opponents.
Ronaldo controlling the
ball on his chest during a 2010–11
La Liga game
against Almería. At his peak, he was
known for his exceptional speed and athleticism.
As Ronaldo matured, he underwent a major
physical transformation, developing a muscular body type that allows him to
retain possession of the ball and strong legs that make up for outstanding
jumping ability. His strength and
jumping ability, combined with his elevation, heading accuracy, and height of
1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in), give him an
edge in winning aerial challenges for balls. These attributes allow him to
function as a target-man, and make him an aerial goal threat in the penalty
area; consequently, many of his goals have been headers. Allied with his
increased stamina and work-rate, his goalscoring ability improved drastically
on the left wing where he was given the positional freedom to move into the
centre to finish attacks. He also increasingly played a creative role for his team, often
dropping deep to pick up the ball, participate in the build-up of plays, and
create chances for his teammates, courtesy of his good vision and passing
ability.
In his final seasons at United, Ronaldo
played an even more attacking and central role, functioning both as a striker and as a supporting forward, or even as an attacking
midfielder on
occasion. He developed into a
prolific goalscorer, capable of finishing well both inside the penalty area and
from distance with an accurate and powerful shot, courtesy of his striking
ability. An accurate penalty kick taker, he also became a
set-piece specialist, renowned for his powerful, bending free kicks, though his ability
in this regard deteriorated later on in his career. When taking free
kicks, Ronaldo is known for using the knuckleball technique, which
had previously been popularised by Juninho Pernambucano; he also adopts a
trademark stance before striking the ball, which involves him standing with his
legs far apart. Regarding Cristiano
Ronaldo's unique style of taking free kicks, former Manchester United assistant
manager Mike
Phelan has
commented: "People used to put the ball down, walk away, run up and hit
it. He brought in a more dynamic showmanship. He places the ball down, the
concentration level is high, he takes his certain amount of steps back so that
his standing foot is in the perfect place to hit the ball in the sweet spot. He
is the ultimate showman. He has that slight arrogance. When he pulls those
shorts up and shows his thighs, he is saying 'All eyes on me' and this is going
in. He understands the marketing side of it. The way he struts up and places
it; the world is watching him."
As Ronaldo entered the thirties he began to dribble less.
At Real Madrid, Ronaldo continued to play a more offensive role, while his creative and defensive duties became more
limited, although not entirely diminished. Initially deployed
as a centre forward by managers Manuel Pellegrini and José Mourinho, he was later moved back
onto the left-wing, though in a free tactical role; this position allowed him
to drift into the centre at will to get onto the end of crosses and score, or
draw out defenders with his movement off the ball and leave space for teammates
to exploit. Madrid's
counter-attacking style of play also allowed him to become more efficient and
consistent player, as evidenced by his record-breaking goalscoring feats.
However, while he mainly drew praise in the media for his prolific goalscoring,
he also demonstrated his ability as an effective creator in this role. This unique role
has been described by pundits as that of a "false,"
"attacking," or "goalscoring winger," as Ronaldo
effectively almost functioned as a striker at times with his central runs into
the penalty area, despite actually playing on the left flank. From 2013 onwards,
under manager Carlo Ancelotti, he effectively adapted
his style to the physical effects of ageing with increasingly reduced off the
ball movement and general involvement, completing fewer dribbles and passes per the game, and instead focusing on short-distance creating and goalscoring. Since 2017, Ronaldo
has adapted his style of play yet again to become more of a free-roaming centre
forward under manager Zinedine Zidane, a role in which he
continued to excel and maintain a prolific goalscoring record; in this
position, he earned praise in the media for his intelligent movement both on
and off the ball, his excellent positional sense, link-up play, clinical
finishing, and his opportunism, as well as his ability to lose or anticipate his
markers, find space in the box, and score from few touches or opportunities.
In his first season at Juventus, Ronaldo
continued to play in a variety of different attacking roles under manager Massimiliano Allegri, depending on whom he
was partnered with. While he had occupied an increasingly offensive role in his
final years at Real Madrid, at times he functioned in a free role at Juventus,
either as a lone striker or in his trademark role on the left-wing, in a
4–2–3–1 or 4–3–3 formation, in which he often switched positions with Mario
Mandžukić. In this role, he was also given licence to drop deep or even out
wide onto the right flank in order to receive the ball, and be more involved in
the build-up of plays; as such, aside from scoring goals himself, he began to
take on opponents and create chances for other players with greater frequency
then he had in his final seasons with Real Madrid. Off the ball, he was also
capable of creating space for teammates with his movement and attacking runs
into the box, or finishing off chances with his head or feet by getting onto the
end of his teammates' crosses. On occasion he also
played in an attacking partnership alongside Mandžukić in a 4–3–1–2, 4–4–2, or
3–5–2 formation. He continued to
play a similar role in his second season with the club under manager Maurizio Sarri.
Reception
"In the six years [Manchester United] had him, you
just saw his game grow all the time, and he was a fantastic player. Now you see
the complete player. His decision-making, his maturity, his experience, plus
all the great skills he has got, they all make him the complete player."
– Former manager Alex
Ferguson, January 2013
Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the
two best players of his generation, alongside Lionel Messi. After winning his
first Ballon d'Or by a record-high vote count at age
23, the public debate regarding his qualities as a player moved beyond his
status in contemporary football to the possibility that he was one of the
greatest players of all time. Acclaimed for his
prolific and consistent goal-scoring, he is considered a the decisive player who is also a game-changer, especially in
important and high-pressured situations.
Fans of Real Madrid (left; Ronaldo's
then-current club) and Manchester United (right; Ronaldo's
former club) sporting Ronaldo's No. 7 jersey at the 2017 UEFA Super Cup.
Ronaldo is noted for his work ethic, elite
body conditioning, and dedication to improvement on the training pitch, as well
being regarded as a natural leader. Writing of his
"extraordinary commitment to physical preparation", Adam Bate
of Sky
Sports adds,
"Dedication is a huge part of staying at the top and Ronaldo's focus is
perhaps unparalleled within the game." His drive and
determination to succeed are fuelled by a desire to be talked about
alongside Pelé and Diego Maradona once retiring. He has at times,
however, been criticised for simulating when tackled. In addition to
this, he was occasionally criticised early in his career by manager Alex
Ferguson, teammates, and the media for being selfish or overly flamboyant
player.
During his career, Ronaldo has also been
described as having an "arrogant image" on the pitch, with Ronaldo
stating that he had become a "victim" because of how he was portrayed
in the media. He is often seen
moaning, gesticulating and scowling while trying to inspire his team to
victory, with Ronaldo
insisting that his competitive nature should not be mistaken for arrogance. His managers,
teammates and various journalists have commented that this reputation has
caused an unfair image of him. In 2014, Ronaldo
told France Football that he had made a
"mistake" when he said in 2011, "People are jealous of me as I
am rich, handsome and a great player", adding that he had matured since
then and fans understood him better.
Goal
celebrations
Ronaldo has adopted several goalscoring celebrations throughout his
career, including one particular celebration which gained widespread coverage
in the media, when he squatted and stared directly into a camera on the
sidelines of the pitch with his hand on his chin. However, after
scoring a goal, he usually celebrates with a "storming jump" and
"turn", before "landing in spread-eagled fashion" into his
"signature power stance", while usually
simultaneously exclaiming "Sí" (Spanish and Italian for
"yes"); as such, this
trademark celebration has been dubbed the "Sii!" in the media.
Comparisons
to Lionel Messi
Main article: Messi–Ronaldo rivalry
Ronaldo with Lionel Messi before an international friendly between Portugal and Argentina on in 2011.
Both players have scored in at least
two UEFA Champions League finals and have
regularly broken the 50-goal barrier in a single season. Sports journalists and
pundits regularly argue the individual merits of both players in an attempt to
argue who they believe is the best player in modern football. It has been
compared to sports rivalries such as the Muhammad Ali–Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing,
the Borg–McEnroe rivalry in tennis, and
the Ayrton
Senna–Alain Prost rivalry from Formula One motor racing.
Some commentators choose to analyse the
differing physiques and playing styles of the two, while part of the
debate revolves around the contrasting personalities of the two players:
Ronaldo is sometimes depicted as an arrogant and theatrical showoff, while
Messi is portrayed as a shy, humble character.
"It's part of my life now. People are bound to
compare us. He tries to do his best for his club and for his national team, as
I do, and there is a degree of rivalry with both of us trying to do the best
for the teams we represent."
– Cristiano Ronaldo
commenting on his rivalry with Messi.
In a 2012 interview, Ronaldo commented on
the rivalry, saying "I think we push each other sometimes in the
competition, this is why the competition is so high", while Ronaldo's
manager during his time at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, opined that "I
don't think the rivalry against each other bothers them. I think they have
their own personal pride in terms of wanting to be the best". Messi himself
denied any rivalry, saying that it was "only the media, the press, who
wants us to be at loggerheads but I've never fought with Cristiano". Responding to the
claims that he and Messi do not get on well on a personal level, Ronaldo
commented, "We don't have a relationship outside the world of football,
just as we don't with a lot of other players", before adding that in years
to come he hopes they can laugh about it together, stating; "We have to
look at this rivalry with a positive spirit, because it's a good thing." Representing
archrivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two players faced each other at least
twice every season in the world's biggest club game, El Clásico, which is among the
world's most viewed annual sporting events.
In a debate at Oxford Union in October 2013,
when asked whether FIFA President Sepp Blatter preferred Messi or
Ronaldo, Blatter paid tribute to the work ethic of the Argentine before taking
a swipe at Ronaldo, claiming "one of them has more expenses for the
hairdresser than the other". Real Madrid demanded – and promptly received
– a full apology and the Portuguese issued his own riposte with a mock-salute
celebration after scoring a penalty against Sevilla, after Blatter had
described him as a "commander" on the pitch. In August 2019,
Ronaldo and Messi were interviewed while sat next to each other prior to the
announcement of the UEFA Men's Player of the Year, with Ronaldo stating,
"Of course, we have a good relationship. We haven't had dinner together
yet, but I hope in the future. I pushed him and he pushed me as well. So it's
good to be part of the history of football."
Outside football
See also: Museu CR7 and Cristiano Ronaldo
International Airport
The Cristiano Ronaldo
Museum, CR7, in Funchal, Madeira. It was opened on 15 December 2013.
As his reputation grew from his time at
Manchester United, Ronaldo has signed many sponsorship deals for consumer
products, including sportswear, football boots (since November 2012 Ronaldo has
worn the Nike Mercurial Vapor personalized CR7
edition), soft drinks,
clothing, automotive lubricants, financial services, electronics, and computer
video games. Ronaldo was
featured as the cover athlete of EA Sports' FIFA video game FIFA 18 and was heavily
involved in the game's promotion. His 'Siiii' goal celebration features in
the FIFA series, accompanied with his own voiceover. He was also the face of Pro Evolution Soccer, appearing on the cover
in 2008, 2012, and 2013.
With earnings of €720 million (£615
million) from 2010 to 2019, Ronaldo was ranked second in Forbes list of The
Highest-Paid Athletes Of The Decade, with only boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. earning more. Forbes has
twice ranked Ronaldo first on its list of the world's highest-paid football
players; his combined income from salaries, bonuses, and endorsements was
$73 million in 2013–14 and $79 million in 2014–15. The latter earnings
saw him listed behind only Mayweather on the magazine's list of The World's
Highest-Paid Athletes. In 2016, he became
the first footballer to top the Forbes list of highest-earning
athletes, with a total income of $88 million from his salary and
endorsements in 2015–16. He topped the list
for the second straight year with earnings of $93 million in 2016–17. Ronaldo is one of
the world's most marketable athletes: SportsPro rated him the fifth
most marketable athlete in 2012 and eighth most
marketable athlete in 2013, with Brazilian footballer Neymar topping both lists. Sports market
research company Repucom named Ronaldo the most marketable and most recognised
football player in the world in May 2014. He was additionally
named in the 2014 Time
100, Time's annual list of the
most influential people in the world. ESPN named Ronaldo the
world's most famous athlete in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Statue of Ronaldo, in
Madeira resembles the pose he strikes before taking free-kicks.
Ronaldo has established a strong online
presence; the most popular sportsperson on social media, he counted
158 million total followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by June 2015. As of
July 2019, he has the world's biggest Facebook fanbase with
122 million followers: he became the first
sportsperson to reach 50 million followers in August 2010, and in October
2014, he became the first sportsperson, and the second person after Shakira, to reach
100 million followers. By June 2017, Ronaldo
had 277 million followers across social media. His sponsors earned
$936 million in media value across his social media accounts between June
2016 to June 2017. Ronaldo has
released two mobile apps: in December 2011, he launched an iPhone game called Heads
Up with Cristiano, created by developer RockLive, and in December
2013, he launched Viva Ronaldo, a dedicated social networking
website and mobile app. Computer security
company McAfee produced 2012
report ranking footballers by the probability of an internet search for their
name leading to an unsafe website, with Ronaldo's name first on the list.
Ronaldo's life and person have been the
subject of several works. His autobiography, titled Moments, was
published in December 2007. His sponsor Castrol
produced the television film Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit, in which
he is physically and mentally tested in several areas; his physical performance
was consequently subject to scrutiny by world media upon the film's release in
September 2011. Cristiano Ronaldo: The
World at His Feet, a documentary narrated by the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, was released via Vimeo in June 2014. A documentary film
about his life and career, titled Ronaldo, was released worldwide
on 9 November 2015. Directed by
BAFTA-winner Anthony
Wonke,
the film is produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, while Asif Kapadia is the executive
producer.
Portugal Prime
Minister António
Costa presents
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a signed Ronaldo
jersey in January 2017
Demand for a replica Ronaldo jersey has
been high throughout his career. In 2008, Ronaldo's number 7 Manchester United
jersey was the best-selling sports product under the auspices of the Premier
League. In 2015, Ronaldo's
number 7 Real Madrid jersey was the second best-selling jersey worldwide, after
Messi's number 10 Barcelona jersey. In 2018, within 24
hours of his number 7 Juventus jersey being released, over 520,000 had been
sold, with $62.4 million generated in one day.
Ronaldo opened his first fashion boutique
under the name CR7 (his initials and shirt number) on the
island of Madeira, Portugal, in 2006. Ronaldo expanded his business with a
second clothes boutique in Lisbon in 2008. In partnership with
Scandinavian manufacturer JBS Textile Group and the New York fashion
designer Richard
Chai,
Ronaldo co-designed a range of underwear and sock line, released in November
2013. He later expanded
his CR7 fashion brand by launching a line of premium shirts and shoes by July
2014. In September 2015,
Ronaldo released his own fragrance, "Legacy", in a partnership with
Eden Parfums.
In 2007, C.D. Nacional renamed its youth
campus Cristiano Ronaldo Campus Futebol (Cristiano Ronaldo Football Campus). In December 2013,
Ronaldo opened a museum, Museu CR7, in his hometown of
Funchal, Madeira, to house trophies and memorabilia of his life and playing
career; the museum is an
official sponsor of the local football team União da Madeira. At a ceremony held at
the Belém
Palace in
January 2014, President of Portugal Aníbal Cavaco Silva raised Ronaldo to
the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry, "to distinguish an
athlete of world renown who has been a symbol of Portugal globally,
contributing to the international projection of the country and setting an
example of tenacity for future generations". A bronze statue of
Ronaldo, designed by artist Ricardo Madeira Veloso, was unveiled in Funchal on
21 December 2014.
Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in Madeira. The
renaming ceremony took place in March 2017.
In June 2010, during the build-up to the
World Cup, Ronaldo became the fourth footballer – after Steven Gerrard, Pelé and David
Beckham – to be represented as a waxwork at Madame Tussauds London. Another waxwork of
he was presented at the Madrid Wax Museum in December 2013. In June 2015,
astronomers led by David Sobral from Lisbon and Leiden discovered a galaxy
which they named CR7 (Cosmos Redshift 7) in tribute to Ronaldo.
On 23 July 2016, following Portugal's
triumph at Euro 2016, Madeira Airport in Funchal was renamed as Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport. The unveiling of
the rebranded terminal took place on 29 March 2017, which included a bust of
his head being presented. The bust and the
name change were controversial, with the lack of the bust's likeness to Ronaldo
being ridiculed by comedians, including Saturday Night Live, while the name the change was subject to much debate locally by some politicians and citizens, who
even started a petition against the move, an action criticised by President of
Madeira Miguel Albuquerque. A year later,
sports website Bleacher Report commissioned
sculptor Emanuel
Santos to
create another bust. However, this bust
was never used; instead, a new one was made by a Spanish sculptor, shown to the
public on 15 June 2018.
In February 2020, the United Arab Emirates awarded a golden
visa to Ronaldo, under the Dubai Sports Council initiative to
connect global players and to encourage them to live and invest in the UAE.
Personal life
Family,
children and relationships
Ronaldo has four children. He first became
a father to a son, Cristiano Jr., born on 17 June 2010 in the United States.[ He stated that he
has full custody of the child and would not be publicly revealing the identity
of the mother as per agreement with her. In January 2015,
Ronaldo announced his five-year relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk had ended.
Ronaldo then became father to twins,
daughter Eva and son Mateo, born on 8 June 2017 in the United States via
surrogacy. He is in a
relationship with Spanish model Georgina Rodríguez, who gave birth to their
daughter Alana Martina, on 12 November 2017.
Ronaldo's father, José, died of an
alcoholism-related liver condition at age 52 in September 2005 when Ronaldo was
20. Ronaldo has said
that he does
not drink alcohol, and he
received libel damages over
a Daily Telegraph article that
reported him drinking heavily in a nightclub while recovering from an injury in
July 2008. His mother,
Dolores was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 but
eventually recovered.
Philanthropy
Ronaldo has made contributions to various
charitable causes throughout his career. Television footage of the 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami showed an eight-year-old boy survivor
named Martunis wearing a number 7
Portuguese football shirt who was stranded for 19 days after his family was
killed. Following this, Ronaldo visited Aceh, Indonesia, to raise
funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction. After accepting
undisclosed damages from a libel case against The Sun newspaper in 2008,
Ronaldo donated the damages to a charity in Madeira. In 2009, Ronaldo
donated £100,000 to the hospital that saved his mother's life in Madeira following her
battle with cancer, so that they could build a cancer centre on the island. In support of the
victims of the 2010 Madeira flood, Ronaldo pledged to play
in a charity match in Madeira between Primeira Liga club Porto and players from
Madeiran-based clubs Marítimo and Nacional.
In 2012, Ronaldo and his agent paid for
specialist treatment for a nine-year-old Canarian boy with apparently terminal
cancer. In December 2012,
Ronaldo joined FIFA's "11 for Health" programme to raise awareness
amongst kids of how to steer clear of conditions including drug addiction, HIV,
malaria and obesity. In January 2013,
Ronaldo became Save the Children's new Global Artist
Ambassador, in which he hopes to help fight child hunger and obesity. In March, Ronaldo
agreed to be the ambassador for The Mangrove Care Forum in Indonesia, an
organisation aiming to raise awareness of mangrove conservation.
Ronaldo was named the world's most
charitable sportsperson in 2015 after donating £5 million to the relief effort
after the earthquake in Nepal which killed over
8,000 people. In June 2016,
Ronaldo donated the entirety of his €600,000 Champions League bonus after Real
Madrid won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. In August 2016,
Ronaldo launched CR7Selfie, a selfie app for a charity to
help Save the Children that lets participants take a selfie with him in one of
several different outfits and poses. In the app, fans
can select from among 68 photos of Ronaldo in different outfits and poses and
scroll through 39 filters to apply to their selfies.
Legal
issues
In July 2017, Ronaldo was charged with
fraudulently evading almost €15 million in tax between 2011 and 2014, a claim he denied at the time. In June 2018,
Ronaldo was given a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined
€18.8 million, later reduced to €16.8 million after reaching a deal
with Spanish authorities. The sentence can be served under probation, without
any jail time, so long as he does not re-offend.
Ronaldo and another man were investigated
by the British Crown Prosecution Service after a 2005 rape, the allegation was brought forward by two women. Within days, the two women
withdrew their allegation and Scotland Yard later issued a statement declaring there was not enough evidence for a prosecution. In April 2017, it
was reported that Ronaldo was being investigated for a rape allegation by
the Las Vegas Police Department originating in
2009. Documents,
confirmed by Ronaldo's lawyers, state that Ronaldo paid a woman US$375,000 in a non-disclosure settlement. Ronaldo and his
lawyers issued a lengthy statement denying all accusations, describing them as
an "intentional defamation campaign" with parts significantly
"altered and/or completely fabricated", a claim which Der
Spiegel categorically denied. In July 2019, Las
Vegas prosecutors said they would not charge Ronaldo over allegations of rape;
the statement added: "Based upon a review of information at this time, the
allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond
a reasonable doubt."
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