All About Cristiano Ronaldo

Private life



Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. The second given name, "Ronaldo," was chosen after Ronald Reagan, his father's favourite actor and U.S. president at the time. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. Liliana Cátia works as a singer by the stage name "Ronalda" in Portugal.



Career

Early career



He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos, Ronaldo's manager at Andorinha, and as a result, Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.



Sporting Clube de Portugal


Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. In his first few months in Lisbon, he had to defend himself from the rest of the local players as they had taunted him over his Madeiran accent. A growth spurt had also obstructed his progress at the club. However, Ronaldo eventually went on to become the only player in Sporting’s history to play for the Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, B team and first-team within a season. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He scored two goals on his Sporting debut against Moreirense. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.
His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However, Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some time to develop into a top footballer. However, he came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting beat Manchester United 3-1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo demonstrated his ability to play on both wings. His performance in the match impressed the Manchester United players, who spoke to their manager about a possible transfer bid for Ronaldo.



Approach by Real Madrid


On June 5, 2008, Ronaldo declared his desire to move to Real Madrid if they still offered the same amount of money as stated earlier in the year. He also said he will speak more of the situation but not until after Euro 2008. On June 9, 2008, Manchester United filed an official complaint with FIFA over Real Madrid's interest in signing Ronaldo, which FIFA decided to take no action over. On June 21, 2008, Ronaldo spoke for the first time during Euro 2008 about his desire to move to Real Madrid. He also claimed that it is his personal dream to be the best player in the world, and he feels that a move to Real Madrid is a step forward.
On June 22, 2008, Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster told German television station DSF, "For such a player, we will pay what is necessary because what counts for us is to win the Champions League", and “We won't get him for any less (than €100 million)" But on June 24, 2008, club president Ramon Calderon, said, "There is no 'Cristiano Ronaldo case' because Manchester do not want to sell, In any case, Real Madrid will never pay €100 million euros for anybody".



Manchester United
Ferguson decided that he wanted Ronaldo for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Ronaldo was signed for a fee of £12.24 million, becoming the club's first ever Portuguese player. Ronaldo was handed the number 7 shirt on his arrival, a shirt number that has belonged to some of the greatest Manchester United legends, such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Ronaldo initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting, as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'no, you're going to have No. 7' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour".

Ronaldo playing for Manchester United
Ronaldo made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford, a 4-0 Manchester United win. On 29 October 2005, Ronaldo scored Manchester United's 1000th Premier League goal, in a 4-1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough. He bagged a double double in February, with two goals at home to Fulham and another pair at Fratton Park, and also scored in the following Premier League game against Wigan taking his tally to 8 Premier League goals. On 26 February 2006, Ronaldo played in the Carling Cup Final against Wigan in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff, and scored a goal - taking his season's tally to 10 goals. He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only award to be voted for by fans. He received the same accolade the following year in 2006. He was also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player of the Year 2005 standings.
In 2006, a row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground intensified speculation about their roles at the club. However, Ronaldo signed a new deal with United that would last until 2010. Ronaldo said of the deal, "United have stood by me and been there for me and I want to repay that".
Despite the World Cup incident, Ronaldo remained popular with the Manchester United faithful when he played (and scored) in his first Premier League match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting "there's only one Ronaldo" at various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.. He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United's most influential players, scoring six goals in three league games to bring his overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the match with 2 goals in the space of a few minutes. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the Portuguese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for the season. The Scot remarked that he was "pleased for him because he works hard at his game. He's still learning the game. His ability to pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very good. That just shows he is maturing. He's been fantastic, and he's getting better all the time". In December, he was awarded the Barclays Player of the Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever player in the Premier League to do so (after Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996). Ronaldo scored his 50th goal for Manchester United in the game against arch-rivals Manchester City which turned out to be the decisive goal which helped Manchester United claim the Premier League title for the first time in 4 years.
As the end of each season approached, particularly in 2006 and 2007, it became traditional for rumours to start floating that Ronaldo was unsettled at Manchester United and wanted to play for Real Madrid - the rumours frequently originating from the board of Real Madrid who were reported in April 2007 to be willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo. At the beginning of March 2007, however, Ronaldo, as well as Manchester United, confirmed that they would be negotiating an extension to his current contract. On 13 April 2007, Ronaldo signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week deal with United, making him the highest-paid player in United's history. He said, "I am very happy at the club and I want to win trophies and hopefully we will do that this season".
During the 2006-07 season, Ronaldo won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. He received the two awards during a ceremony on the 22nd of April, 2007. In addition to winning the two awards (an accomplishment that has only been matched once - in 1977 by Andy Gray), Ronaldo was also named a member of the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, alongside seven of his fellow Manchester United teammates. On 24 April 2007, Ronaldo completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, an award which is given by winning the most votes from fans all over the United Kingdom. In addition, he was awarded the 2007 Portuguese Footballer of the Year, and at the beginning of May 2007 Ronaldo was also awarded the Football Writers' Association Award. He also received two awards from the club itself, the Player of the Year award, and the Fans' Player of the Year award.
The 2006-07 was tainted with several diving incidents. During a match with Middlesbrough F.C., he was criticised for diving by rival manager Gareth Southgate.[26] On 4 February 2007, in a match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Ronaldo was caught in yet another diving controversy, after winning United a controversial penalty despite seeming to receive little or no contact from Tottenham's Steed Malbranque.[27]
Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games. He was sent off in a game against Manchester City and received a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2005.[28] While playing for Portugal in a friendly against Luxembourg he was given a yellow card for pushing Jeff Strasser in the throat in retaliation after Strasser tackled him. Felipe Scolari warned Ronaldo to keep his temper in check during the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for an alleged headbutt of Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during United's second match of the 2007-08 season, and was therefore banned for the subsequent three games. After the match, Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Ronaldo had "fallen into the trap". Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in future.
Ronaldo's 2007-08 season started badly with the sending off at Portsmouth. However, in his first game following the ban Ronaldo scored the only goal in the 60th minute of a Champions League away game against Sporting Lisbon on return to his old club. He was given a standing ovation by the Sporting supporters for his muted celebrations following the goal. Following this match, Ronaldo has kept his goalscoring boots on in the away fixture against Birmingham City F.C. The goalscoring continued with a brace against Wigan Athletic F.C. Ronaldo contributed three goals in both the home and away fixtures against Dynamo Kiev, a goal against Arsenal F.C. and another brace against Blackburn Rovers. An injury time winner, coming from a free-kick in the home fixture against Sporting Lisbon led Manchester United to the top of the group in the UEFA Champions League. On December 2, 2007, Ronaldo was officially announced as the runner up in the European Footballer of the Year standings, finishing behind the winner, Kaka, with 277 points. Ronaldo scored a match-winning double against Fulham F.C., one of which included a memorable volley. He had also been booked for diving by referee Rob Styles when he went down under a challenge from Fulham's goalkeeper, Antti Niemi. Sir Alex Ferguson had claimed that it "His reputation from years ago is still playing on the minds of referees. It was a ridiculous decision." In addition to his two late penalties in the home fixtures against Derby County F.C. and Everton F.C. , he scored a free-kick just before half-time against Sunderland A.F.C.. On December 17 2007, it was officially announced that Ronaldo came in third in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards, finishing behind Kaká and Lionel Messi. In a 2-1 defeat in the away fixture against West Ham United F.C., Ronaldo scored in the match but missed a penalty.
Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United, in the 6-0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of English Premier League table. He scored with a free kick in the 49th minute and went on to score twice more in the 70th and 88th minutes of the match. The very next game, he scored the second goal in the 2-0 win against Reading on 19 January 2008, bringing his goal tally to 23, equalling his tally for the whole of the 2006/2007 season. UEFA have been urged to investigate an incident before and during the 1-1 draw against Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League on February 20, 2008 where Ronaldo and United team mate Nani were targeted by opposition fans shining potentially hazardous lasers at the players during the warm up and the match itself.
On March 19, 2008, Ronaldo eclipsed George Best's 40-year-old United record of the most goals scored by a midfielder in one season. Best had scored 32 times in the 1967-68 season. In a Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford, Ronaldo was captain for Manchester United for the first time in his career in England; while donning the captain's arm band, Ronaldo scored both goals in a 2-0 win for United. On April 9, 2008, it was reported that Real Madrid have decided to offer Manchester United a world-record £100million for Cristiano Ronaldo, a fee which was later turned down by the club.On May 11, 2008, Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot against Wigan Athletic in the 33rd minute, taking Ronaldo's season tally to 41 goals, 31 of those in the Premier League. Ronaldo then scored Manchester United's only goal in normal time in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, to bring his season tally to 42 goals, falling short of Ruud van Nistelrooij's tally of 44 goals in a season which he did back in 2002/2003, by just 2 goals.
Ronaldo won the 2007-2008 European Golden Shoe, the award for the European top goal scorer, with an 8-point lead ahead of second-placed Dani Güiza. He is the first winger to receive this award.