WeeklySA_AdminGOAT: A tribute to Christiano Ronaldo as he celebrates his 40th birthday with highlights, quotes, records, stats and trivia
By Sports Reporter
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Funchal on February 5,1985, on the picturesque island of Madeira, which sits 800 kilometres off mainland Portugal. He was named Ronaldo after his father’s favourite actor, Ronald Reagan, the then US president. Cristiano grew up in poverty, sharing a bedroom with his three siblings.
Ronaldo’s idols were Brazilian thrillers Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. As a 12-year-old, he joined Sporting, consequently moving to Lisbon on his own. He dropped out of school at 14 to focus on becoming a footballer.
Personal life
Maria Dolores revealed that, had he not become a footballer, her youngest son would have become a bricklayer.
The debut
A 17-year-old Ronaldo made his professional debut, as a substitute for Sporting against Inter Milan, in a UEFA Champions League qualifier in 2002. Marco Materazzi, Javier Zanetti, Alvaro Recoba and Cristian Vieri were among his opponents that day.
International highlights
With Portugal being held at home by Kazakhstan in 2003, Luiz Felipe Scolari sent Ronaldo on for his international debut for Luis Figo at the start of the second half. The 18-year-old was duly named Player of the Match in a 1-0 win.
Club highlights
Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool were linked to Ronaldo following his eye-popping form in his first season with Sporting.
After its end, Ronaldo tortured Manchester United as Sporting marked the inauguration of their Estadio Jose Alvalade with a 3-1 win. Roy Keane and other senior Red Devils, awestruck by the kid, urged Sir Alex Ferguson, who was already interested in Ronaldo, to sign him immediately. Six days later he was a United player. Ronaldo requested the No28 shirt, but was handed the No7 made sacred by George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.rom the wing, He amazingly hit 31 goals in 34 Premier League appearances in 2007/08
Manchester to Madrid
Real Madrid shattered the world transfer record when they finally landed Ronaldo for €94 million in 2009. It broke the €67 million they had recently paid AC Milan for Kaka.
A staggering 80,000 supporters attended his presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu, breaking the global record of 75,000 Napoli fans welcoming Diego Maradona to Napoli from Barcelona.
Unreal Madrid
CR7 was nothing short of extraordinary for Los Blancos. He preposterously struck 50-plus goals in six successive seasons, scoring 450 times in 438 appearances for the club overall. As well as inspiring Real to two La Liga and three FIFA Club World Cup trophies, Ronaldo was fundamental in them winning four Champions League titles in five seasons.
An old man and an Old Lady
Some questioned whether the 33-year-old would be up to his next challenge at Juventus. It was one he passed emphatically. Ronaldo propelled La Vecchia Signora to five titles in three years, including back-to-back Scudetti, and left having netted 101 goals in 134 games.
Rampant in Riyadh
After a second spell at Manchester United, Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in 2022. He bagged both goals as they upset Al Hilal after extra time in the Arab Club Champions Cup final, and has 87 goals in 95 run-outs for The Big Yellow overall.
The celebration
Ronaldo first performed his ‘Siuuu’, a way of saying ‘Yes’, in 2013. It has become one of the most famed celebrations in sport, copied by footballers galore and MLB, NBA and NFL athletes.
The Best
Ronaldo has won FIFA’s top annual individual award five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017). Only eight-time recipient Messi has triumphed more.
On the MLS
Asked if he felt the Pro League was superior to the MLS where Lionel Messi et al are plying their trade, at the five-time Ballon d’Or winner didn’t hold back.
“Obviously, obviously, obviously. But because it’s Saudi Arabia, people look down on it a bit more,” he claimed. “But I also know that the people who talk don’t know what they’re saying.
Celebrity
Cristiano is the most-followed person on Instagram (648 million). Next come Lionel Messi (504 million), Selena Gomez (422 million), The Rock (395 million) and Kylie Jenner (394 million).
Ronaldo is the most-liked person on Facebook (171 million) ahead of Shakira (123 million), and is the third-most followed person on X (115 million) behind Barack Obama (131 million) and Elon Musk (216 million).
UR Cristiano, his channel, became easily the fastest to reach one million subscribers on YouTube, amazingly doing so within 90 minutes of its launch in August 2024.
Ronaldo topped all four editions of the ESPN World Fame 100 (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ World’s Highest-Paid Athletes four times (2016, 2017, 2023 and 2024) and has placed in the top three in each of the last 12 years.
In September 2024 Ronaldo became the first person to hit one billion followers across social media platforms.
Ronaldo owns a mind-blowing car collection valued at around $28 million.
It includes a Bugatti Centodieci, which cost $9m and was one of only 10 made, and a McLaren Senna built to honour Formula One god Ayrton Senna. He also boasts Aston Martins, Audis, BMWs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches and Rolls-Royces.
Katia, Cristiano’s sister, is a Latin pop singer once known as Ronalda. Tourist destinations Ronaldo loves are AlUla, Dubai, London, Madeira, New York, Paris and The Red Sea.
Cristiano has an eclectic taste in music but particularly enjoys listening to hip-hop and R&B, reggaeton, samba, Latin and electronic dance.
Ronaldo met his partner Georgina Rodriguez in 2016 when he went to a Gucci store to buy a suit and she was working as a shop assistant.
