10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo (born 5 February 1985, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal) is a Portuguese football (soccer) forward who is one of the greatest players of his generation.

Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about the GOAT:

Name inspired by former US President

Cristiano has an elder brother, Hugo and two elder sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. Ronaldo’s father, José Dinis Aveiro, was the equipment manager for the local club Andorinha. His full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Madeira. The name Ronaldo was added to Cristiano’s name in honor of his father’s favorite movie actor, Ronald Reagan, who was U.S. president at the time of Cristiano’s birth.

Diagnosed with a heart condition at age 15

At age 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a heart condition that necessitated surgery, but he was sidelined only briefly and made a full recovery. He first played for Clube Desportivo Nacional of Madeira and then transferred to Sporting Clube de Portugal (known as Sporting Lisbon), where he played for that club’s various youth teams before making his debut on Sporting’s first team in 2002.

A tall player at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 meters), Ronaldo was a formidable athlete on the pitch. Originally a right-winger, he developed into a forward with a free-reined attacking style. He was able to mesmerise opponents with a sleight of foot that made sufficient space for openings in opposing defences.

Club play

After a successful season with Sporting that brought the young player to the attention of Europe’s biggest football clubs, Ronaldo signed with English powerhouse Manchester United in 2003. He was an instant sensation and soon came to be regarded as one of the best forwards in the game. His finest season with United came in 2007–08, when he scored 42 League and Cup goals and earned the Golden Shoe award as Europe’s leading scorer, with 31 League goals. After helping United to a Champions League title in May 2008, Ronaldo captured Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Player of the Year honors for his stellar 2007–08 season. He also led United to an appearance in the 2009 Champions League final, which they lost to FC Barcelona.

One of the greatest goal scorers

The winner of five Ballon d’Or awards, he is among the sport’s top goal scorers. Soon thereafter Ronaldo was sold to Spain’s Real Madrid—a club with which he had long been rumored to want to play—for a then record £80 million (about $131 million) transfer fee. His scoring prowess continued with his new team, and he netted the most goals (40) in La Liga history during the 2010–11 season (his record was broken the following season by his rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona). In 2011–12 Ronaldo helped Madrid capture a La Liga championship and scored a personal-best 46 goals during the League season. He scored a total of 66 goals in 56 appearances with Madrid and the Portuguese national team in 2013 to earn his second world player of the year award (the FIFA World Player of the Year was renamed the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2010).

In 2014 he scored 52 goals in 43 games and led Madrid to a Champions League title, which resulted in Ronaldo capturing another Ballon d’Or award. In 2014–15 he netted 48 goals to lead La Liga in scoring. Ronaldo netted his 324th goal as a member of Real in October 2015 to become the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. He scored 35 La Liga goals in 2015–16 and helped Real win its record 11th Champions League title, and in December 2016 he won a fourth career Ballon d’Or for his accomplishments. Ronaldo scored 42 goals for Real across all competitions in 2016–17 and led his team to La Liga and Champions League titles that season, which resulted in a fifth career Ballon d’Or award. In 2017–18 he scored 44 goals in 44 games, and Real won a third straight Champions League title.

In July 2018 he reached a four-year contract worth €112 million (about $132 million) with the Italian powerhouse Juventus. He finished his Real career with 311 goals in 292 matches. He scored 28 goals in his first season with Juventus—his lowest domestic goal total since his last season with Manchester United—as the powerhouse club won its eighth straight Italian league title. In the 2019–20 season Ronaldo helped the club capture another league title, and Juventus later won the 2020 Supercoppa Italiana and the 2021 Coppa Italia Final. Several months after the latter match, he left Juventus and returned to Manchester United. His second stint with the club proved disappointing, however. Both Ronaldo and Manchester struggled, and he expressed growing dissatisfaction with the club. In November 2022 his contract was terminated by “mutual agreement.” The following month Ronaldo signed with the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

Become the first ever Portuguese player for Man U

Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first-ever Portuguese player. Initially, he requested for the number 28 as his jersey number because he didn’t feel that he could live up to the pressure of previous players such as George Best and David Beckham who wore the number 7 jersey.

International career

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo preparing to kick the ball in a World Cup 2010 qualifying football match against Hungary, 9 September 2009.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (center) in a match against Ireland, 2014.

On his home soil, after moving through the youth and under-21 ranks, Ronaldo had made his first appearance for Portugal’s full national team against Kazakhstan in August 2003 (four days after his debut for United). He was a key player in Portugal’s fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup and became the full-time captain of the national team in 2008. In 2012 his stellar play led Portugal to the semifinals of the European Championship, where his team was eliminated by rival Spain in a match that was decided by a penalty kick shoot-out. Ronaldo came into the 2014 World Cup hot off of his second world player of the year win, but his play at the tournament was spotty, and the entire Portugal team struggled during a group-stage elimination. In 2016 he helped Portugal win the European Championship, the country’s first major international tournament title, although he only played sparingly in the final because of a knee injury that he had sustained early in the match. Ronaldo played brilliantly at the 2018 World Cup, scoring four goals in four games as Portugal advanced to the knockout round only to lose its first match of that stage to a strong defensive Uruguay side. Four years later Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five different World Cups. However, he was not part of the starting lineup for several games, and Portugal’s 2022 World Cup ended with a loss in the quarterfinals.

Endorsements and legal issues

Ronaldo was one of the most well-known sports stars off the field, and numerous studies of athletes’ popularity showed that he was the most-beloved athlete in the world during his playing peak. His extreme popularity made Ronaldo one of the highest-paid endorsers in sports history, and in November 2016 he became the third person (after basketball superstars Michael Jordan and LeBron James) to earn a “lifetime” contract from the sportswear company Nike. Moreover, he established his own successful “CR7” brand of products that included shoes, underwear, and fragrances. Ronaldo’s immense marketability was at the center of a legal issue that arose in June 2017. That month prosecutors filed a lawsuit that accused Ronaldo of defrauding the Spanish government of €14.7 million ($16.5 million) by hiding his image-rights income in Spain from 2011 to 2014. He was accused of having underestimated the income he earned from the sale and licensing of his image rights and the accompanying tax obligations, but Ronaldo denied all allegations. However, in June 2018 he accepted a suspended two-year prison sentence and agreed to pay €18.8 million ($21.8 million) to the Spanish government to settle the case.

Enjoys cooking

During his free time, Cristiano enjoys cooking. He mentioned in an interview that he usually cooks before he leaves for his soccer practice. Because he is constantly training, Cristiano rarely has time to watch TV. If he does get the time to watch, he says he loves watching one of the local Portuguese game show which is mostly about trivia questions. Cristiano is an avid learner and he takes interest in learning new things everyday.

Holds the record for the fastest YouTube channel

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel, gathering nearly a million followers in one hour of launch.

In about an hour, Ronaldo has gathered nearly one million followers, leaving it to be seen if he will topple the most followed person on YouTube, Mr. Beast, who has 311 million subscribers.

Ronaldo has already published 19 videos on his channel, with one video featuring the Portugal legend reacting to his best European goals. Ronaldo’s legendary career which spans over two decades has seen him play for reputable clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, winning 33 major trophies in the process, including five UEFA Champions Leagues.

The most followed person on Instagram

To answer a burning question, Crristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram. As of 22 August 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram with over 636 million followers. Renowned as one of the world’s most exceptional footballers, he holds the position of forward for Al Nassr and serves as the esteemed captain of the Portuguese national team. The content on his feed offers a deeper insight into his personal and professional lives and showcases his experiences and achievements.

Asaase Broadcasting Company airs on Asaase 99.5 Accra, Asaase 98.5 Kumasi, Asaase 99.7 Tamale, Asaase 100.3 Cape Coast, AsaasePa 107.3 (Accra).
Affiliates: Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nandom FM 101.9, Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Sissala Radio 96.3 (Tumu), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand

The post 10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Cristiano Ronaldo appeared first on Asaase Radio.