31 Unknown Facts About Cristiano Ronaldo That Will Make You Love Him More

Since the time Cristiano Ronaldo started his career with Manchester United, his unparalleled skill has stamped him in the football history books as one of the greatest footballers in the world. With seemingly countless goals, he has literally led Real Madrid to victory. Here are some interesting facts you probably didn’t know about him:

1. He was born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. He is the youngest of four children to Maria Dolores Spinola dos Santos da Aveiro and Jose Dinis Aveiro. He was named after the former president of United States, Ronald Reagan.
2. He was raised a Christian in Santo Antonio, by his mother, a chef and his father, a municipal gardener, in poverty, sharing a room with his older brother, Hugo and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Catia.
3. His footballing exploits started at the age of seven in 1992, with Andorinha, and on August 1, 1993, he received his first prize, as the Best Player in the Adelino Rodrigues children’s tournament. He was trained by Professor Afonso.
4. In May 1995, Ronaldo was transferred to Clube Desportivo Ncional, in exchange for 20 balls and a set of equipment for children. In 1997, as a 13-year old Ronaldo, attended a three-day trial with Sporting Lisbon, and was signed up for £ 1,500.
5. As a child Ronald suffered from a racing heart, a form of tachycardia, meaning his resting heart rate was faster than normal. He had a successful operation in a day and resumed training in couple of days.
6. He made history by becoming the first player in Sporting’s history to play in the under-16, under-17, under-18, ‘B’ team and first team in the same season. On October 7, 2002, he made his debut in the ‘Primeira Liga,’ against Moreirense, and scored two goals in 3-0 win.
7. Ronaldo abstains from alcohol as his father passed away from alcohol abused related problem and has even received libel damages from Daily Telegraph, for reporting of him drinking. He also doesn’t sport tattoos as he regularly donates blood and doesn’t want this to be interrupted.
8. Ronaldo was inspirational in a friendly against Manchester United, in August 2003, creating two of the goals as Sporting won 3-1. Subsequently, United signed the most expensive teenager in English football history for £12.24 million.
9. On August 16, 2003, he made his Premier League debut in a 4-0 win against Bolton Wanderers. Wearing the clubs iconic # 7 shirt, Ronaldo came on as substitute for Nicky Butt with a half-hour remaining.
10. Ronaldo went on to represent Manchester United for six seasons scoring 118 goals in 292 appearances with three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League, and the Club World Cup.
11. The 2006 had been a season to forget for he was involved in serious of incident including a one-fingered gesture resulting in one-match ban. He was also red carded for his rash challenge on Andy Cole in the Manchester Derby and also clashed with teammate, Ruud van Nistelrooy, during training.
12. On May 5, 2007, Ronaldo scored his 50th goal for the club in the match against Manchester City securing the Premier League title. He ended the season with 23 goals in 49 appearances for the club and went on to win ‘PFA Players’ Player of the Year,’ ‘Fan’ Player,’ ‘PFA Young Player of the Year,’ and the ‘FWA Footballer of the Year,’ to become the first player to win all the four awards.
13. In December 2008, 77 of 96 football writers choose Ronaldo, as the winner of the 2008 Ballon d’Or and in the process he became United’s first winner since 1968. He went on to bag the FIFA World Player of the Year for 2008.
14. In course of his career, Ronaldo received five Ballon d’Or awards, the most for a European player. He also holds the record for most goals in the UEFA Champions League, with 128, including single season high of 17 goals.
15. He earned nine trophies during his time with Manchester United including the inaugural ‘FIFA Puskas Award,’ in recognition of match winning 40-yard strike goal against Porto on April 15, 2009.
16. In July 2009, Ronaldo signed then a world record €94 million move to Real Madrid, after agreeing a six-year deal with € 1 billion buy-out clause and was awarded jersey No. 9. He made his debut on August 29, 2009, against Deportivo La Coruna.
17. His two goals in the final ‘La Liga,’ game of the season against Almeria, on May 21, 2011, took him to a record-breaking 40 goals and in the process he won the European Golden Shoe for the second time, to become the first player to win in two different leagues.
18. Ronaldo led Real Madrid to ‘2013-14 UEFA Champions League,’ title with record 17 goals as Champions League top goal scorer. He was voted the UEFA Best Player in Europe by panel of football journalist.
19. When Ronaldo scored in the seventh minute against Atletico Madrid on February 11, 2014, he set a unique record of scoring a goal in every minute of a 90-minute game throughout his career. The goal in the match also helped him to surpass Luis Aragones as the top scorer in the history of ‘Copa,’ showdown.
20. The 2014-15 season saw, him set a new personal goal of scoring 61 times in competitions and on December 6, 2014, with his record 23rd hat-trick in La Liga, he raced to fastest 200 goals in Spanish league, in only 178 games.
21. The 2015-16 season has many high to his name, starting on September 12, when he surpassed Raul Gonzalez Blanco’s tally to become Club’s La Liga’s highest goal scorer. He also became overall highest goal scorer for Real Madrid with 324 goals and ended the season as all-time top scorer in the Champions League.
22. He received the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2015-16, for second time and has scored half century of goals in all format for record six seasons starting 2010-11, with 53 goals, followed by 60, 55, 51, 61 and 51.
23. On May 17, 2017, Ronaldo smashed Jimmy Greaves’ all-time record of 366 goals in Europe’s top five league after scoring twice against Celtic Vigo. He went on to record 450 goals in 438 appearances playing for Real Madrid in nine seasons.
24. On July 10, 2018, he signed a four-year contract with Italian club Juventus, for a €100 million transfer fee and has recorded 46 goals in 67 matches in all formats till date.
25. On July 25, 2001, Ronaldo made his international appearance for Portugal at the 2001 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, scoring a goal in 1-3 defeat to Finland. He had amassed 34 goals in age group competitions and 82 goals in 117 games for the senior side.
26. He also holds the record of being first player to score in 10 consecutive international competitions and set a new record as the player who scored against the most national team, numbering 40.
27. On December 15, 2013, he inaugurated his own museum, named ‘Museu CR7,’ filled with every trophy he has ever won, and is located in his birth place of Madeira, Portugal.
28. With over 277 million followers across social media, he had his autobiography, titled ‘Moments,’ was published in December 2007. There are number of documentary film on his life and a television film ‘Ronaldo: Tested to the Limited,’ was released in September 2011.
29. In June 2015, a galaxy was named CR7, in tribute to Ronaldo and on March 29, 2017, the Madeira Airport in Funchal was renamed as Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, following Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph.
30. He has four children. A son, Cristiano Jr., twins, daughter, Eva, and son, Mateo from his previous relationship and a daughter, Alana Martina, born on November 12, 2017, with his current girlfriend, a Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez.
31. Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth: $460 Million