Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,
[2] OIH (born 5 February 1985),
[3] commonly known as , is a Portuguese
footballer who plays as a
forward for Spanish
La Liga club
Real Madrid and who serves as
captain of the
Portuguese national team. He became the
most expensive footballer in history on his 2009 move from
Manchester United to Real Madrid in a
transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$131.6 million), a record that would later be reportedly broken by
Gareth Bale, who joined Real Madrid in 2013 for £85 million (€100 million).
[4]
Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is
paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid
footballer in the world,
[5] and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.
[6]
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for
Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to
C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants
Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of
Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the
FA Cup.
Ronaldo was the first player playing in England to win all four main
PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the
Ballon d'Or.
[7] He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was awarded the
European Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the
FIFPro Player of the Year,
World Soccer Player of the Year,
Onze d'Or, and the
FIFA World Player of the Year.
[8][9][10] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named
FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the
FIFA Puskás Award for the Goal of the Year in 2009.
Ronaldo is regarded to be one of the finest footballers in today's game and as one of the greatest of all time.
[11][12][13][14][15]
Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a
single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to
reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score
against every team in a single season in La Liga.
He also holds records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid
and most goals scored per minute in La Liga for a Real Madrid player.
In January 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th club goal.
[17][18]
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut against
Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has been
capped over 100 times and is his country's
second-highest goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in five major tournaments;
UEFA Euro 2004, the
2006 FIFA World Cup,
UEFA Euro 2008, the
2010 FIFA World Cup and
UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of the Euro 2004 against
Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach
the final.
He took over the captaincy of the side in July 2008 and went on to
captain Portugal to the semi-finals at the Euro 2012 and finished the
competition as the joint best scorer.
He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by
Johnny Berry,
Steve Coppell,
Bryan Robson,
Eric Cantona and
David Beckham, subsequently worn by
Michael Owen and
Antonio Valencia.
After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he
began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of the
legendary
Raúl.
Early life
Ronaldo was born in
Santo António, a neighbourhood of
Funchal,
Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener.
[19] His second
given name "Ronaldo" was chosen after then-
U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.
[3] His great-grandmother Isabel da Piedade was from
Cape Verde.
[20] The family was staunchly Catholic and lived in poverty. Ronaldo had no toys and shared a room with his brother and sisters.
[21]
Ronaldo was popular with other students at school, but he was expelled
after he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo later said of the
incident: "He disrespected me."
[22] At the age of 14, Ronaldo agreed with his mother to then focus entirely on football.
[22]
Club career
Early career
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team
Andorinha, where his father was the
kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club
Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with
Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.
[23]
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the
Academia Sporting, the club's football academy, in
Alcochete.
He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16,
under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season.
[24] He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against
Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the
2002 European Under-17 Championship.
[25]
At the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a
racing heart,
a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The
Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother
gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had
an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his
heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the
morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the
afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.
[26]
In November 2002, Ronaldo was invited to
Arsenal's training ground,
London Colney to meet manager
Arsène Wenger and his coaching staff.
[27]
Wenger, who was interested in signing the midfielder had arranged to
meet Ronaldo's representatives, Formation (who suggested the player
originally to
Gérard Houllier, then Liverpool's manager and
Joan Laporta, then Barcelona's president) in the subsequent months to discuss a transfer arrangement.
[28][29] However he came to the attention of
Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the
Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.
[30]
On April 2013, Ronaldo was honoured by Sporting as the club announced that the player had become their 100,000th member.
[31]
Manchester United
2003–2006
Ronaldo playing against
Chelsea in April 2006.
Ronaldo became
Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million
[32] (£12.24 million) after the
2002–03 season.
[33]
He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want
the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7
shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as
Johnny Berry,
Steve Coppell,
Bryan Robson,
Eric Cantona, and
David Beckham, and subsequently worn by
Michael Owen and
Antonio Valencia.
"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."
[34]
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home victory over
Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over
Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3–0
FA Cup final victory over
Millwall.
[35]
He scored United's 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to
Middlesbrough.
[36] He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first
FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
He was sent off in the
Manchester derby at the
City of Manchester Stadium on 14 January 2006 (a game which United lost 3–1) for kicking City's former United player
Andrew Cole.
[37]
Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football in the
2005–06 season, scoring the third goal in Manchester United's 4–0
Football League Cup final victory over
Wigan Athletic.
[38]
2006–2009
Ronaldo with United during their 2006–2007 season.
The
2006–2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first
league title with Manchester United. An important factor in this success was his one-to-one training by
Rene Meulensteen.
Meulenstein coached him in moves to make himself more unpredictable. He
also helped him to work better with his team-mates, calling for the
ball and scoring more 'ugly' goals instead of waiting for the special
occasion when he could score the 'beautiful' goals for which he was
already famous.
[39]
In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive
Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after
Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and
Robbie Fowler in 1996.
[40][41] He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals
Manchester City
on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in
four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special
Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that
Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo,
[42]
he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension
with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team
history.
[43][44]
Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the
PFA Players' Player of the Year and
PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining
Andy Gray (in
1977) as the only players to receive this honour.
[45] In April, he completed the treble by winning the
PFA Fans' Player of the Year. He also won the
FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first player to win all four main
PFA and
FWA awards. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07
PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
Ronaldo (left) and
Carlos Tévez prior to a Champions League match.
Ronaldo's
2007–08 season began with a
red card for a headbutt on
Portsmouth player
Richard Hughes during United's second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban.
[46] Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future.
[47]
After scoring the only goal in a Champions League away match against
Sporting, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return
fixture as Manchester United topped their Champions League group.
[48]
He finished as the runner-up to
Kaká for the 2007
Ballon d'Or,
[49] and was third in the running for the
FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and
Lionel Messi.
[50]
Ronaldo scored his first
hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against
Newcastle United at
Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.
[51] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against
Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.
[52] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against
Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate
Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA.
[53] One month later, Lyon were fined
CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.
[54]
On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his
career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory.
[55]
The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new
club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George
Best's forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.
[56] Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over
Aston Villa
on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and
European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo's scoring
streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the
2007–08
European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of
Mallorca's
Dani Güiza.
[57]
In the
2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals
Chelsea,
Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a
Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra
time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to
win the trophy, but
John Terry
shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester
United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA
Fans' Man of the Match,
[58] and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling four short of
Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season. In the Champions League he was also named
best forward and
player of the tournament and was the
competition's top goalscorer.
On 5 June 2008,
Sky Sports
reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real
Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had
allegedly promised him earlier in the year.
[59] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with
FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action.
[60][61]
Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when
Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at United for at least another
year.
[62]
Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the
Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July.
[63] He returned to action on 17 September in United's goalless
UEFA Champions League group stage draw with
Villarreal as a substitute for
Park Ji-Sung,
[64] and scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1
League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.
In a 5–0 win over
Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks.
[65] The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time.
[66] On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester United's first
Ballon d'Or recipient since
George Best in
1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up
Lionel Messi.
[67] He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the
Club World Cup on 19 December.
[68]
On 8 January 2009, Ronaldo was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he
wrote off his
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the
A538 near
Manchester Airport. A
breathalyser test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.
[69] Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the
FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since
Luís Figo in 2001.
[70]
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over
Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals.
[71] In the second leg against
Porto,
Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the
semi-finals. For this goal Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the
first player to win the
FIFA Puskás Award, in 2009, an honour handed by
FIFA to the best goal of the year.
[72] He later called it the best goal he had ever scored.
[73][74] Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive
Champions League final,
but made little impact in United's 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished
with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the
previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best
total of 42 from the previous season.
On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of
£80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he
again had expressed his desire to leave the club.
[75] It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.
[76]
When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he
expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a
player, saying, "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important
factors and most influential in my career."
[77]
Real Madrid
2009–10 season
On 26 June 2009,
Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€94 million) becoming
the most expensive footballer in history,
[78] after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.
[79] Ronaldo's contract is worth €11 million per year
[80] and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.
[81] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,
[82] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.
[83] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend
Alfredo Di Stéfano.
[84] Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing
Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from
Barcelona to
Napoli in 1984.
[85][86] The event was broadcast live on the Spanish and Portuguese
public TV stations,
RTVE and
RTP respectively.
[87][88]
Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over
Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came one week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over
LDU Quito.
[89] On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his
La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against
Deportivo La Coruña.
[90] On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over
Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real.
[91] He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against
Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.
[92]
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with
Portugal against
Hungary,
kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both
of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against
Milan.
[citation needed] Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0
El Clásico defeat to
Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career during Real's 4–2 victory against
Almería,
a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for
removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an
opponent three minutes later.
[93]
Ronaldo was second in the
2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the
2009 Ballon d'Or award. On 5 May 2010, Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid
hat-trick in an away game against
Mallorca. Ronaldo and
Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.
[94] Ronaldo ended his first season at Real Madrid by ending at second place in the
2009–10 La Liga with 96 points, reaching Round of 16 in the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League, and the Round of 32 in the
2009–10 Copa del Rey.
2010–11 season
With the departure of
Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the number 7 jersey for Real Madrid.
[95] On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against
Racing de Santander,
[96] the most goals he has ever scored in a single match.
[97] This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and two for
Portugal)
in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the
most Ronaldo has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrid's 5–0
defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored his second La Liga
hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over
Athletic Bilbao.
[98] His final match of the calendar year saw him score a hat-trick in a 8–0 trashing of
Levante in the
Copa del Rey.
[99]
Ronaldo during a friendly game against
Peñarol before the beginning of the season.
Ronaldo began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, especially
after Real Madrid acknowledged he had broken numerous goalscoring
records, previously settled and held by classic players such as
Alfredo Di Stéfano,
Hugo Sánchez, and
Manuel Alday.
[100][101] Ronaldo began his scoring spree by scoring two vital goals in a tight 3–2 victory away to
Getafe.
[102] He then consolidated his massive performances by scoring a hat-trick and assisting
Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, in a 4–2 victory over
Villarreal on 9 January. On 3 March 2011, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 7–0 trashing of
Málaga, but was affected by a muscle injury at the end of the match, which forced him to spend 10 days on the sidelines.
In April he made another massive comeback from injury, sustaining a three-game scoring streak (including 2 goals in
Champions League quarter-finals against
Tottenham Hotspur), thus arriving to the first of a historical series of four
El Clásico encounters two goals short of breaking his personal record of 42 goals in all competitions in a single season, achieved at
Manchester United in the 2007–08 season.
During the second league edition of El Clásico, Ronaldo scored from
the penalty spot and took his tally to 41 goals, also taking his scoring
streak to four games. On 20 April, Ronaldo scored the winning goal
against
Barcelona in the 103rd minute of the
Copa del Rey final.
[103]
This goal would later be chosen as both Ronaldo's and Real Madrid's
best goal in the season by several fan polls, including those of Marca
[104] and Real Madrid's website.
[105] 7 May saw Real travel to the
Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán
to take on Sevilla, where Ronaldo led the thrashing of the Andalusian
side, scoring four goals in a 6–2 victory. These four goals took him to
46 for the season which surpassed his previous record of 42 in a season
playing for Manchester United.
[106] Three days later he reached 49 goals for the season, by scoring another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win against
Getafe. On 15 May, after scoring two free-kick goals in a 3–1 win over
Villarreal, he equalled the
La Liga record with most goals in a season with 38, a record previously held by
Telmo Zarra and
Hugo Sánchez.
On 21 May, he scored two goals in the last league match of the season
against Almería, taking his Pichichi total to 41, and La Liga total to
40, becoming the only player to score 40 goals in a La Liga season. By
doing this, he won the
European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different leagues. The sports newspaper
Marca, who awards the
Pichichi Trophy,
included the goal scored on 18 September 2010 against Real Sociedad in
Ronaldo's goal count, which had been officially attributed to
Pepe.
[107]
Should this goal be granted to Ronaldo, his goal count in the Pichichi
Trophy would tally 41 goals. Ronaldo also broke Zarra's record of most
goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. However,
regardless of this goal polemic, Ronaldo's record-breaking figures
became a source of major attention from public media, such as being
included in the
Sports Illustrated World XI,
[108] rating him as one of the world's best footballers.
Accounting for all competitions, Ronaldo ended the season with a
total of 53 goals (not granting him the controversial goal from
Pepe), having scored 25 goals with his right foot (excluding free-kicks and penalty-kicks) and 9 with his left foot.
[109] Ronaldo ended his second season at Real Madrid by winning the
2011–12 Copa del Rey, reaching the semi-finals in the
2010–11 UEFA Champions League, and second place in the
2010–11 La Liga with 92 points.
2011–12 season
Real Madrid's pre-season began with a 4–1 victory over
MLS team
Los Angeles Galaxy,
[110] with goals from
Callejón,
Joselu, Ronaldo, and
Benzema.
[111] Four days later Ronaldo scored a second half
hat-trick in a 3–0 win against
Guadalajara.
Ronaldo's preseason performance was highly praised as world media kept
hailing Ronaldo's extreme competitiveness and motivation, even during
friendly matches. On 17 August 2011, Ronaldo scored his 100th goal with
Real Madrid with a first-half equaliser against
Barcelona in the second leg of the 2011
Spanish Supercup in the
Camp Nou. On 27 August 2011, he opened the
2011–12 La Liga season with a hat-trick in a 6–0 win at
Real Zaragoza.
In the first weeks of September, Ronaldo's physical performance was subject to scrutiny by world media, after
Castrol released a
television film named
Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit
where he was put to test in several fields, including mental and
physical. Conclusions from the movie and doctors in the weeks following
claimed that Ronaldo was one of the best athletes in the world,
excelling in football and outstanding in almost every other category.
[citation needed] On 24 September, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick (including two penalties) in Real Madrid's 6–2 win over
Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabéu. This was his ninth
La Liga hat-trick and tenth hat-trick for Real Madrid.
On 27 September, Ronaldo scored Real's opening goal in a 3–0 victory over
Ajax at the
Santiago Bernabéu in the
UEFA Champions League.
On 22 October, after not scoring in his previous three games, Ronaldo
scored his tenth La Liga hat-trick and eleventh in total for Real Madrid
in a match away to
Málaga, which Real Madrid won 4–0. His twelfth Real Madrid hat-trick followed on 6 November, in a 7–1 victory over
Osasuna that ensured Madrid stayed top of the table heading into the international break.
[112]
On 19 November 2011, Ronaldo scored Real's second goal in a 2–3 defeat of
Valencia. On 26 November 2011, Ronaldo scored two penalties in a 4–1 defeat of
Atlético Madrid in the
El Derbi madrileño. On 3 December 2011, Ronaldo scored Madrid's second goal in a 0–3 defeat of
Sporting de Gijón in
La Liga. He was one of the three finalists for the
2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 13 December 2011, Ronaldo scored the second goal against
SD Ponferradina in the first leg of the
Copa del Rey Round 4, the match ended in a 0–2 win. On 17 December 2011, Ronaldo scored his twelfth
La Liga hat-trick and thirteenth overall in a 6–2 win away to
Sevilla.
Ronaldo was third in the 2010–11
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, behind
Lionel Messi and
Xavi, and second in the
2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, behind Lionel Messi and ahead of Xavi. In Real Madrid's next game in La Liga at home to
Granada Ronaldo scored the fifth goal in a 5–1 win. On 22 January 2012, Ronaldo scored two penalties in a 4–1 win over
Athletic Bilbao, and on 28 January scored Real Madrid's second and winning goal in a 3–1 win against
Zaragoza. Ronaldo also scored two goals against
Barcelona in the
Copa del Rey
Quarter-finals, which Real lost 4–3 on aggregrate. On 12 February 2012,
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, his thirteenth in La Liga and fourteenth
for Real Madrid, in a 4–2 home win over Levante. This win stretched Real
Madrid's lead over second-placed Barcelona to 10 points.
Ronaldo celebrating after scoring the only goal against
Rayo Vallecano in an away victory.
On 24 March 2012, Ronaldo reached more than 100 goals in La Liga in
just three seasons at Real Madrid when he scored the first of his two
goals in the match against
Real Sociedad, the second quickest
La Liga player to reach that milestone in the league after
Isidro Lángara, reaching the milestone in 92 matches and breaking the previous club record held by Puskás.
[113] As of 24 March 2012, Ronaldo had averaged 1.01 goals per game in La Liga.
On 11 April, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against
Atletico Madrid
in a 1–4 win, as well as assisting the last goal. His hat-trick, one
goal from a free kick, one from 30 yards on the left wing and one
penalty, gave him 40 league goals in the season, making him the only
player in La Liga history, or in any other major European league, to
score 40 goals in two seasons, even doing so in consecutive seasons.
Ronaldo officially broke his previous record of 40 goals in a La Liga
season on 14 April, scoring in a 3–1 win against
Sporting Gijón. On 25 April, in the second leg of the semi-finals in the
2011–12 UEFA Champions League against
Bayern Munich, Ronaldo converted a penalty from a
David Alaba handball and scored a second goal from a pass from
Mesut Özil. Extra time ended with the tie level at 3–3, and Real Madrid was eliminated in the shootout with Ronaldo's kick being saved by
Manuel Neuer.
[114]
On 13 May 2012, the last matchday, Ronaldo scored against
Mallorca which made him the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.
He finished the season with a total of 46 league goals and 60 goals in
every competition, breaking the Real Madrid record he had set the
previous season. Ronaldo ended his third season at Real Madrid by
winning the
2011–12 La Liga with record 100 points, finishing as runner-up in the
2011 Supercopa de España, reaching the semi-finals in the
2011–12 UEFA Champions League, and the quarter-finals in the
2011–12 Copa del Rey. Ronaldo claimed that he believed that he had played better than Lionel Messi the 2011–12 season,
[115] and he went on to win the
Trofeo Alfredo Di Stefano as the best
La Liga player of the season.
2012–13 season
Ronaldo started the season by lifting the
Supercopa de España with Real Madrid, scoring two goals in a 4–4 away goals aggregate win against
Barcelona. The goal in the first leg made him the first Madrid player in the history of
El Clásico to score for the fourth game in a row at the Camp Nou,
[116] with the winning goal in the second leg, Ronaldo equalled the Real Madrid record of
Iván Zamorano of scoring in five consecutive El Clásico matches.
[117] AS reported that
Manchester City president
Sheikh Mansour had made a bid of 200 million euros for Ronaldo in the summer, but Real Madrid turned the bid down.
[118] On 30 August, Ronaldo was second (tied with
Lionel Messi) in the 2011–12
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award with 17 votes, behind winner
Iniesta.
[119]
On 2 September 2012, Ronaldo scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–0 win over
Granada, which was also his 200th career goal in league matches played in
England,
Spain and
Portugal.
He added another goal, which was his 150th goal for Real Madrid in all
competitions in 149 matches played. This goal made him the 10th highest
scorer for Real Madrid in all competitions. Ronaldo was substituted at
the 63rd minute by team mate
Higuaín, due to a minor thigh injury.
[120]
Afterwards, Ronaldo claimed that he was unhappy with a "professional
issue" after he refused to celebrate his 149th and 150th goals for the
club.
[121] Ronaldo's agent,
Jorge Mendes, insisted that he always knew that Ronaldo was unhappy with life at Real Madrid.
[122]
Ronaldo dismissed the notion that his post-match declaration of
"sadness" was related to a desire for a new and improved contract at the
club.
[123] Real Madrid president,
Florentino Pérez, claimed that he did not want to leave the club and that he was unhappy for other reasons.
[124]
When Ronaldo returned to Real Madrid, after international duty, he
stated he was focused on achieving further success with the club.
[125] Real Madrid coach
José Mourinho
believed that UEFA's decision to elect Iniesta as the best player in
Europe in 2011–12 could have been one of the reasons behind Ronaldo's
unhappiness.
[126][127]
On 18 September, Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 3–2 victory over
Manchester City.
[128]
On 30 September, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick (including two penalties),
his first La Liga hat-trick of the season, in a 5–1 win over
Deportivo de La Coruña.
[129] On 4 October, Ronaldo scored his first career hat-trick in Champions League as he led Real Madrid to a 4–1 victory over
Ajax.
[130]
Continuing his fine form, he hit a brace the following week against
Barcelona in a 2–2 draw at Camp Nou, which made him the first and only
player to score in six consecutive El Clásico's.
[131] He followed this up with another goal in the following weekends against
Borussia Dortmund in a 2–1 away loss and a brace in the 5–0 away win against
Mallorca.
[132][133]
On 11 November, in a 2–1 away win over
Levante,
Ronaldo received an horrific elbow to the eye in the second minute in
the match, but scored his twelfth La Liga goal to give Madrid the lead,
before being substituted at half-time.
[134][135] This eventually led to him missing the
Portugal squad for the friendly game against
Gabon.
[136] On 21 November, he appeared in Madrid's 1–1 Champions League group stage draw with Manchester City at the
Etihad Stadium. The match represented the first time that Ronaldo played in Manchester since leaving City's rival,
Manchester United, for Madrid in 2009.
[137] On 1 December, after not scoring in his previous three games, Ronaldo scored a goal from a free-kick and assisted
Özil to score the second goal, in a 2–0 victory over
Atlético Madrid.
[138] Ronaldo continued to score his sixth Champions League goal in a 4–1 home win against Ajax on 4 December, once against
Celta Vigo in the first leg of a
Copa del Rey game on 12 December, and once again in a 2–2 draw with
Espanyol on 16 December.
In December 2012, French giants
Paris Saint-Germain declared interest in signing Ronaldo.
[139]
However, Real Madrid announced the club will not sell Ronaldo and the
club was working on an improved contract with a three-year extension,
keeping him at the club until 2018.
[140][141] In April 2013, Florentino Pérez said Ronaldo's contract will be renewed,
[142] while José Mourinho felt Ronaldo was indispensable to the club.
[143] In May 2013, Perez said he had no intention of selling Ronaldo, who would be offered a new deal to ensure he stays with Madrid.
[144][145]
On 6 January, in Madrid's first match of 2013, Ronaldo scored a brace to lift 10-man Real Madrid to a 4–3 victory over
Real Sociedad.
[146] The match represented the first time that Ronaldo captained Real Madrid in an official match,
[147][148] but received his fifth yellow card of the season and was suspended for the team's next league game at
Osasuna
serving a one-game ban. This was the first time Ronaldo was suspended
for an accumulation of yellow cards, having only previously missed games
when being given a straight red card.
[149] On 7 January, he was second in the
2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, for the fourth time behind Lionel Messi.
[150] On 9 January, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo in the second leg of a Copa del Rey game.
[151] Following a first leg victory over
Valencia in the Copa del Rey on 15 January, Ronaldo got into an argument with manager José Mourinho.
[152][153]
On 27 January, Ronaldo scored a
perfect hat-trick against
Getafe in a 4–0 win, including his 300th club goal.
[154]
On 30 January, against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, Ronaldo made his
500th club appearances. He was the first not Spanish to captain Real
Madrid in a Clásico in the last 60 years.
[155] On 2 February, Ronaldo scored the first own goal of his career to send Real Madrid to a shock 1–0 defeat at Granada.
[156] Ronaldo than scored another hat-trick the next week against Sevilla, his 21st hat-trick of his career and his 17th in La Liga.
[157]
Ronaldo faced his former club
Manchester United for the first time on 13 February in the Champions League Round of 16 and scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at the
Santiago Bernabéu.
[158]
On 26 February, Ronaldo scored twice against Barcelona in the second
leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, making this the sixth consecutive
trip to the Camp Nou in which he had scored.
[159] Ronaldo then scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United on 5 March, which was his return to
Old Trafford for the first time since his world-record £80 million move to Real Madrid in 2009.
[160]
Thereafter, Ronaldo stated he was "sad" and had a "strange feeling"
after his goal knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League.
[161][162]
On 10 March, Ronaldo struck twice against Celta Vigo to send Real
Madrid above city rivals Atlético into second place in La Liga.
[163]
The second goal, his 138 goal in La Liga, earned him a place in the top
25 goalscorers in the history of La Liga in just 127 games, recording
an average of 1.08 goals per game, the highest of all the top 25
goalscorers.
[164] On 16 March, Ronaldo scored the equaliser in a 5–2 victory against Mallorca, which was his 350 goal in his career.
[164][165] On 3 April, Ronaldo scored the opening goal against
Galatasaray in the first leg of the quarter-finals, which took Ronaldo ahead of
Filippo Inzaghi to sixth in the Champions League goalscoring charts.
[166]
On 9 April, Ronaldo scored twice against Galatasaray to send Real
Madrid to the semi-finals in the Champions League. With these goals,
Ronaldo went ahead of
Andriy Shevchenko to fifth in the Champions League goalscoring charts.
[167] In April 2013, he was named by
Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in
Real Madrid's history".
[168]
Ronaldo picked up an injury to his leg thigh muscle while warming up
for the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg on 24 April, where he
scored an away goal in a 4–1 loss against
Borussia Dortmund.
[169] He was absent from Real Madrid's next game against Atlético Madrid,
[170] but returned to action on 30 April for the 2–0 second leg victory against Dortmund (a 4–3 aggregate loss).
[171] On 4 May, Ronaldo scored two headers against
Real Valladolid in a 4–3 home win.
[172] The British media reported that Manchester United chief executive
David Gill was in Madrid to talk with Ronaldo's agent about a return to Old Trafford,
[173] but other media outlets reported that United would struggle to re-sign him after the announcement of
Alex Ferguson's retirement as manager of Manchester United.
[174][175]
Ronaldo scored his 200th goal for Real Madrid on 8 May in a 6–2 win against
Málaga.
This figure made him sixth in the list of the club's all-time top
scorers and the player that took fewest matches (197) to reach 200
goals.
[176] On 17 May, Ronaldo headed the opening goal from a
Mesut Özil corner in the 14th minute against Atletico Madrid in the eventual 2–1
Copa del Rey final loss, which was also his 111 goal (201 overall) in his 100th home appearance.
[177] He was shown a straight red card in the 114th minute of extra time of the final for an altercation with
Gabi.
[178] He was charged for the accumulation of yellow cards and violent conduct by the
RFEF, banned for the two games in the last 16 of the 2013–14 Copa del Rey.
[179]
Accounting for all competitions, Ronaldo ended the season with a
total of 53 goals, having scored 29 goals with his right foot (excluding
free-kicks and penalty-kicks), 16 with his left foot and 8 with his
head.
[180] Ronaldo ended his fourth season at Real Madrid by reaching the final of the
2012–13 Copa del Rey, semi-finals in the
2012–13 UEFA Champions League for the third consecutive year, and second place in the
2012–13 La Liga with 85 points.
2013–14 season
Real Madrid's failure to win major silverware last season and reports
of division in the dressing room had prompted speculation that Ronaldo,
whose contract runs until June 2015, might be seeking a move away from
the Spanish capital.
[181][182][183][184]
On 8 June 2013, Ronaldo moved to quell the speculation over his future
by insisting that he would reach a deal to renew his contract with Real
Madrid in the summer.
[185]
On 13 June 2013, Ronaldo flatly denied that any agreement had been
struck in a brief message to his 58 million Facebook and 18.9 million
Twitter followers.
[186][187] On 3 July 2013, Ronaldo admitted that he was missing the English
Premier League, but ruled out an imminent move back to
Old Trafford.
[188]
On 18 August 2013, Ronaldo made his 200th competitive appearance for Real Madrid in a 2–1 home win over
Real Betis.
[189] Ronaldo had not scored during the first two league games, but against
Athletic Bilbao on 1 September 2013, he scored his first of the season in a 3–1 home victory.
[190]
On 15 September 2013, after much speculation, Ronaldo signed a new
contract with Real Madrid that will keep him at the club until 2018,
[191]
with a salary of €17 million (after taxes), which makes him one of the
highest paid player in football. On 17 September 2013, Ronaldo scored
the second Champions League hat-trick of his career in Real Madrid's
opening group match of the
2013–14 UEFA Champions League, a 6–1 away win against
Galatasaray.
[192] On 22 September 2013, Ronaldo scored a brace in a 4–1 home victory against
Getafe CF, including his 209th goal in his 205th game, to become the fifth highest scorer in the club's history.
[193]
In his 100th game in the European competitions against
Copenhagen on 2 October 2013, Ronaldo scored a brace as Real Madrid went on to a 4-0 home victory.
[194] On 5 October 2013, Ronaldo scored a late winning goal against
Levante, which made him the first player in the big five European leagues to score 50 goals in 2013.
[195] On 26 October 2013, Ronaldo scored twice in a 2–1 home victory against
Juventus to become the Champions League's third all-time highest goalscorer with 57 goals.
[196][197] On 30 October 2013, Ronaldo scored his 18th La Liga hat-trick and his 23rd overall in a 7–3 home win against
Sevilla.
[198]
International career
Ronaldo playing against
Brazil in February 2007.
Ronaldo earned his first cap for
Portugal in a 1–0 victory against
Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003.
[199]
Euro 2004
Ronaldo was called up for
Euro 2004,
[200] scoring his first international goal in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions
Greece[201] and scoring again in a 2–1 semi-final win over the
Netherlands.
[202] He was featured in the
UEFA Euro All-Star Team of this competition, providing two assists,
[203] despite finishing with only two goals.
[204] He also represented Portugal at the
2004 Summer Olympics,
scoring a goal in the tournament, although the Portuguese Olympic
football squad was eliminated in the first round, finishing bottom of
their group with three points.
[205][206]
2006 World Cup
Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in
World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals,
[204] and scored his first
World Cup goal against
Iran with a penalty kick.
[207]
During a
quarter-final match against
England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldo's United teammate
Wayne Rooney was
sent off for stamping on Portugal defender
Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee
Horacio Elizondo's
decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in
replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's dismissal.
After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he
was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off.
[208]
On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney's
infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.
[209]
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United,
[210] and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily
Marca that he wished to move to
Real Madrid.
[211] In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager
Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney.
[212][213] Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.
[214]
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semi-final defeat to
France,
[215] and missed out on the competition's Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans.
[216] Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFA's Technical Study Group awarded the honour to
Germany's
Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor in the decision.
[217]
Post-World Cup
One day after his 22nd birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against
Brazil on 6 February 2007.
[218] This move was in honour of
Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach
Luiz Felipe Scolari
explained, "Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a
gesture... [he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and
now he is no longer with us."
[219]
Ronaldo was made full-time captain of Portugal in 2008.
Euro 2008
Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign,
[220] behind Poland's
Ebi Smolarek, but finished with only one goal in the tournament as Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals with a 2–3 loss against
Germany.
[221]
When Portugal's
squad for the tournament was announced, Ronaldo was given the number 7 shirt previously worn by
Luís Figo.
[222] Ronaldo was named Man of the Match against the
Czech Republic in
Group A of the European championships.
[223]
When
Carlos Queiroz was named Portugal's new coach in July 2008,
[224] he appointed Ronaldo as team captain.
[225]
2010 World Cup
On 15 June 2010, in Portugal's opening
World Cup match against
Côte d'Ivoire, Ronaldo was tackled by right-back
Guy Demel,
which led to an argument and both being booked. The next day, Portugal
contacted FIFA to suggest that Ronaldo's yellow card be rescinded since
he was "pulled into" the confrontation after having already moved away
from the spot where he was tackled, but the appeal was rejected.
[226]
Ronaldo was named Man of the Match in all three of Portugal's
Group G matches at the World Cup.
[227][228][229] His only goal of the tournament came in Portugal's 7–0 group stage thrashing of
North Korea on 21 June,
[230] which marked his first international goal in 16 months.
[231] Portugal were ultimately eliminated by
Spain in the Round of 16.
Euro 2012
Ronaldo scored seven goals in Portugal's
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, including two strikes against
Bosnia in the
play-offs for the tournament, and finished behind Germany's
Miroslav Klose and the Netherlands'
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (not including the play-offs round). Portugal were drawn in Group B with
Netherlands,
Denmark and
Germany, which was widely referred to as the "
group of death" of the tournament.
[232] In an interview with
Kicker Magazine, Ronaldo stated that "I will only be fully content with my career when I have lifted a trophy with Portugal."
[233][234][235]
Ronaldo playing against
Germany at Euro 2012.
After the opening 0–1 defeat against
Germany,
Cristiano Ronaldo was criticised for under performing, showing
frustration at his and his team-mates' errors and for walking off into
the changing-rooms straight after the match, rather than thanking the
crowd with the team. Cristiano Ronaldo's team-mate,
Nani,
later defended him, stating that he had left the pitch as he needed to
instantly be treated for a possible injury. He also stated that Ronaldo
had been training well and contributing greatly to the team, also adding
that he was under excessive pressure, as football is a team sport. Nani
finally stated that he believed that Cristiano Ronaldo would soon
silence his critics.
Luís Figo,
however, criticised Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour, stating that it is
the captain's responsibility to always defend the group, despite the
result.
[236]
During the match between
Denmark and
Portugal, the Denmark fans chanted
Lionel Messi's
name whenever Ronaldo was on the ball. Ronaldo squandered two
gilt-edged one-on-one chances, and Ronaldo looked frustrated and
tormented throughout.
[237] Asked about the Messi chants, Ronaldo responded irritatedly: "You know where
he was at this time last year? Do you know? He was being eliminated in the
Copa America,
in his own country. I think that's worse, no? And people say that he is
the best player in the world. This sort of thing is normal for great
players."
[238]
In the final group match between Portugal and the
Netherlands,
Ronaldo scored two goals to secure a 2–1 victory for Portugal, allowing
them to advance to the quarterfinals. He also struck the post twice in
the match and was named
Man of the Match.
[239][240]
Cristiano Ronaldo was praised for his performance against the
Czech Republic
in the Quarterfinals. After he had twice hit the post, he finally
darted in from behind his marker in the 79th minute and headed a cross
from
Joao Moutinho,
sending Portugal into the semifinals with a 1–0 victory over the Czech
Republic. After scoring the winning goal, he ran to the camera and was
initially accused of chanting "Messi" mockingly, although upon further
review, it was found that this was incorrect and that he had in fact
simply stated "para ti" as he had dedicated the goal to his son.
[241][242]
Ronaldo had several chances for Portugal in the semi-final against
Spain, but he sent three shots over the bar.
[243] Ronaldo had his best chance in the 90th minute but shot the ball high and wide.
[244]
The match ended with penalties, but Ronaldo did not take a penalty in
the shootout. He had been slated to take the fifth one, but it never got
that far.
[245] The Portugal coach,
Paulo Bento,
knocked back criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo not being employed earlier
in the shootout. "Well we had this plan and if it would have been 4–4
and he would have taken the last penalty we would talk in a different
way," Bento said.
[246][247]
Before and throughout the tournament, Ronaldo was particularly hailed by
Diego Maradona
who even declared Ronaldo as "the best player on the planet" and that
"[Ronaldo] has shown his countrymen that he does deserve a monument in
Lisbon."
[248][249]
Ronaldo was included in the UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament, the
second time after 2004, and finished the competition as the joint best
scorer with three goals, along with five other players, although Spain's
Fernando Torres claimed the Golden Boot.
2014 World Cup cycle
On 17 October 2012, Ronaldo won his
100th cap for the Portugal national team in a
World Cup qualification match against
Northern Ireland at
Porto's
Estádio do Dragão. He became the third youngest European ever to reach that figure in the process, after Germany's
Lukas Podolski and Estonia's
Kristen Viikmäe.
[250]
On 14 August 2013, Ronaldo scored his 40th goal for Portugal in a 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands.
[251] On 6 September 2013, Ronaldo netted his first international hat-trick in a 15-minute spell in the second half at
Windsor Park against Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualification match to become Portugal's second-highest scorer ahead of
Eusébio.
[252][253]
With his goals against North Ireland, Ronaldo also established a
personal record, since it was the first time that he scored in three
consecutive matches with Portugal.
[254]
Style of play
Widely regarded as one of the two best players in the world and as one of the best players to ever play the game,
[255][256] Cristiano Ronaldo plays an
attacking role, most often playing as either a striker or as a winger,
[257][258] and is known for his finishing, pace, dribbling, positioning and his passing and crossing ability.
[259][260] He is able to play on either wing as well through the center of the pitch, making him a very versatile attacker.
[261]
Tactically, Ronaldo plays a powerful attacking role, often drifting from the left wing into the centre when moving off the ball.
[262]
Ronaldo is known to be mentally sharp, with good vision, predicting
certain plays, and also possesses very good reactions, balance and
agility. Although right footed, he is also able to control the ball and
cross and finish well with his left foot.
[263][264]
Cristiano Ronaldo is known for his pace, skill, control and dribbling
ability, as well as his flair in beating players during one on one
situations. He is able to finish well both inside the area and from
distance.
[259][265] He is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick specialist.
[266]
Uniquely, his height, strength, jumping ability and heading technique
have given him an edge in winning aerial challenges for balls, with the
majority of his goals often being headers.
[267]
Since his arrival at Manchester United, Ronaldo underwent a major
body transformation, from a skinny youth to an athletically built adult.
His well-built, muscular body type allows him to keep his balance when
protecting the ball.
[268] Both Manchester United's strength and conditioning coach Mike Clegg, and French legend
Zinedine Zidane
have praised Ronaldo's incredible work ethic and dedication to
improvement on the training field and have stated that he has been
renowned for this.
[268][269][270][271]
Ronaldo said: "I didn't have any particular idols as a child. My
ambition was to play for my national team because that's where the
footballers I mostly followed played. I'm sure I used to do stuff I no
longer do due to age or experience."
[272] Ronaldo once stated his desire to carve his name in history alongside footballing legends such as
Pelé and
Diego Maradona,
[273] and that he would rather be remembered as a role model than one of world football's best players.
[274]
However, Ronaldo has at times been criticised for some of his
performances in the national team, on which Maradona has commented: "As
good as he is with Real Madrid, he often seems frustrated on the
national level, as if he was surrounded by players who do little to
assist him."
[249] Ronaldo also has been criticised for his diving when tackled. For which
José Mourinho
has told: "Cristiano is a player who does not have the culture of the
swimming pool, he has no culture of simulation, he is a British-trained
player,
Ferguson
trained. In some cases, the simulators are given more protection, and
those who are honest are often the losers. I'm not a hypocrite if I say
that they (defenders) hit Cristiano very hard, and that the yellow cards
do not arrive or are slow in coming."
[275] However, Mourinho suggested that Ronaldo does not take criticism well.
[276]
Ronaldo has been described as having an "arrogant image" on the field
of play with Ronaldo stating that he has become a "victim", because of
how he is portrayed in the media.
[277]
He is often seen moaning, gesticulating and scowling while trying to
inspire his team to victory. Ronaldo has insisted that his competitive
nature should not be mistaken for arrogance declaring "I was in the
swimming pool with my girlfriend and sometimes we like to have a race.
Sometimes you have to give her an opportunity to be happy but I win
because I don't like to lose. It's simple like that."
[277] Former Portugal coach
Luiz Felipe Scolari, who coached Ronaldo between 2003 and 2008, admitted that people are "jealous" of him.
[278] Compatriot
Pepe slammed Ronaldo's "arrogant image", and instead highlighted his "character" and "desire to win".
[279]
Ronaldo's direct football style, skill and goalscoring ability have
been his most noticeable traits throughout his career, and his overall
talent has at times led him to be considered a player who stands out and
who can be a match changer.
[280]
Ronaldo's increasing reputation led the media to draw comparisons between him and
FC Barcelona forward
Lionel Messi,
[281][282][283][284]
which Ronaldo has commented on saying: "Some people say I'm better,
other people say it's him, but at the end of the day, they're going to
decide who is the best player. Sometimes it makes me tired. For him too
because they compare us together all the time. You cannot compare a
Ferrari with a
Porsche
because it's a different engine. You cannot compare them. He does the
best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid. I think we
push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the
competition is so high."
[285] However, some former great players have criticised the comparison, such as Brazilian legend Pelé and Portuguese international
Luis Figo, who cited that they have different playing styles.
[286][287]
Though the comparison has been criticised, many former and current
football players have cited Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the
world's finest players.
[249][288][289][290][291] Former Brazilian star
Roberto Carlos
suggested that "...Ronaldo can do much more for Madrid than Messi can
for Barcelona. Madrid really depend on Ronaldo to perform well, while
Barcelona are so much more than Messi."
[292] Former Chelsea striker
Didier Drogba even labelled the duo as "monsters" for revolutionising statistics for goals scored.
[293] Ronaldo's former Real Madrid manager,
José Mourinho,
once stated: "If both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were born in
different eras, they would have ruled the football scene and collected
10 FIFA Ballon d'Ors each."
[294]
| “ |
"Maturity brings many things.
When I went to see them play against City, some of his decision-making
in terms of passing was brilliant. One-touch passing, good crosses. In
the six years we 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."[295] |
” |
| |
|
Personal life
Ronaldo's father, José Dinis Aveiro, died of an alcoholism-related
liver condition at the age of 52 in September 2005 when Ronaldo was 20.
[296] Ronaldo has said that he does not drink alcohol and he received
libel damages over a
Daily Mirror article that reported him drinking heavily in a nightclub while recovering from an injury in July 2008.
[297]
In October 2005, a month after his father died, Ronaldo was arrested on suspicion of
raping a woman in a London hotel and released on
bail.
[298] Ronaldo denied the allegations and charges were dropped by
Scotland Yard
in November 2005 due to "insufficient evidence". Ronaldo issued a
statement saying: "I have always strongly maintained my innocence of any
wrong-doing and I am glad that this matter is at an end so that I can
concentrate on playing for Manchester United."
[299]
Ronaldo announced that he had become a father on 3 July 2010. His
official Facebook and Twitter pages reference the birth of his son and
request privacy.
[300] The child, named Cristiano
[301] is in full custody of Ronaldo.
[300]
Ronaldo has previously dated English models
Alice Goodwin[302] and
Gemma Atkinson, and since the start of 2010, he has been dating
Russian model
Irina Shayk.
[303] He is a practising
Roman Catholic.
[304]
Philanthropy
Television footage of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
showed an eight-year-old boy survivor named Martunis wearing a No. 7
Portuguese football jersey who was stranded for 19 days after his family
was killed. Following this, Ronaldo visited
Aceh, Indonesia, to raise funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
[305][306] After accepting undisclosed damages from a libel case against
The Sun newspaper in 2008, Ronaldo donated the damages to a charity in
Madeira.
[307] 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 in his native island Madeira.
[308] In support of the victims of the
2010 Madeira flood, Ronaldo pledged to play in a charity match in Madeira between the
Primeira Liga club
FC Porto and players from Madeiran based clubs
Marítimo and
Nacional.
[309]
In November 2011, Ronaldo donated a pair of his football boots to be
auctioned by Real Madrid's 'Clasico' network. They were sold for £2050
with the proceeds going to fund schools in
Gaza,
Palestine.
[310] In May 2012, Ronaldo and his agent,
Jorge Mendes,
decided to fund a pioneering treatment for a nine-year-old boy when it
seemed that there was no hope left for the child, who has been battling
cancer since before his second birthday.
[311]
In November 2012, Ronaldo sold the golden boot he had won in 2011 for
€1.5 million and gave the money to fund schools for children in Gaza.
[312] In January 2013, Ronaldo became
Save the Children's new Global Artist Ambassador, in which he hopes to help fight child hunger and obesity.
[313]
In March 2013, Ronaldo agreed to be the ambassador for The Mangrove
Care Forum in Indonesia. The forum aims to raise awareness to the
Indonesian and international community of the importance of conserving
biodiversity and ecosystem of mangroves in the South Bay of Benoa, Bali.
[314]
Wealth
In March 2010,
France Football ranked Ronaldo third in its list of the world's highest paid footballers, behind
David Beckham and
Lionel Messi, with £27 million (€29.2 million) in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.
[315][316] His net wealth is estimated at $160 million.
[317]
Ronaldo has signed many sponsorships as his reputation rapidly grew from his time at
Manchester United.
[318] In October 2009, Ronaldo was named the new spokesmodel for
Emporio Armani men's underwear and jeans.
[319] In February 2010, he re-upped his endorsement contract with American sportswear company
Nike until 2014.
[320] He has also signed other sponsorships from
Coca-Cola,
Castrol,
Konami,
Banco Espirito Santo,
Motorola,
Jacob & Co.,
Herbalife and
KFC.
[321][322][323][324][325][326][327] All of his sponsorships have earned him a total of an estimated $21 million per year as of June 2013.
[328] In June 2012,
SportsPro rated Ronaldo as the 5th most marketable athlete in the world,
[329] but he slipped to the eighth position in 2013.
[330]
Fashion
In 2006, Ronaldo opened a fashion boutique under the name "CR7" (his initials and shirt number) on the island of
Madeira, Portugal. Ronaldo expanded his fashion empire with a second clothes boutique in
Lisbon,
Portugal in 2008. The stores includes diamante studded belts, jeans
with leather pockets and patent buckled loafers. The store also sells
slinky outfits for women.
[331]
In 2013, Ronaldo expanding his fashion line. In partnership with
Danish company JBS Textile Group, Ronaldo designed his own underwear
line.
[332] The line named CR7 was unveiled at the Palacio De Cibeles in Madrid on 31 October 2013.
[333]
Media
Ronaldo's autobiography, titled
Moments, was published in December 2007.
[334]
On 9 June 2010,
Madame Tussauds London unveiled Ronaldo's waxwork as part of the build-up to the World Cup. Ronaldo joined fellow footballers
Steven Gerrard,
Pelé and
David Beckham at the event's venue.
[335] Ronaldo is sponsored by the U.S. sportswear company
Nike and features in their television advertisements.
[336]
Ronaldo was featured on the front cover of the video games
FIFA Street 2 and
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.
In May 2011, Ronaldo was confirmed as the new face of FIFA's rival
football series PES with his debut as a cover star of the series
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and was also involved in promotional campaigns for the game.
[337] In December 2011, Cristiano launched an
iPhone game called
Heads Up with Cristiano. The game is created by developer
RockLive.
[338] Ronaldo was then the face of
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, and was also involved in the
motion capturing and the
trailers.
[339]
In August 2010, Ronaldo reached 10 million fans on Facebook and in
doing so made history by becoming the first non-American personality
ever to achieve that kind of success on the social networking site.
[340] In October 2012, Ronaldo became the first sportsperson to reach 50 million followers on
Facebook.
[341] According to
Forbes, Ronaldo had the 5th highest social rank in the world in 2012, bettered only by
Lady Gaga,
Rihanna,
Justin Bieber, and
Katy Perry.
[342]
In September 2011, Castrol EDGE presented "Cristiano Ronaldo: Tested
to the Limit", an award-winning documentary that showed Ronaldo
undertaking a series of challenges while under scientific examination.
[343] On 17 May 2012, Ronaldo and Castrol EDGE launched a live-streamed football challenge against fans through
Facebook. #RonaldoLIVE was the world's first interactive football challenge streamed live through
Facebook from a state-of-the-art testing facility in Madrid.
[344]
In July 2012, Ronaldo was revealed by computer security company
McAfee
as the most "dangerous" footballer online in cyberspace. According to
McAfee, fans on the internet searching out for "Cristiano Ronaldo",
"Cristiano Ronaldo download", "Cristiano Ronaldo and photos" or
"Cristiano Ronaldo and videos" might run the risks of online threats
that could steal their personal information. Ronaldo gained highest
percentage of overall risk of 6.2% followed by Swedish striker
Zlatan Ibrahimović with 5%, and England captain
Steven Gerrard with 4.5%.
[345]
In December 2012, Ronaldo joined FIFA's '11 for Health' programme.
The programme features together eleven top football stars to raise
awareness amongst kids of how to steer clear of conditions including
drug addiction, HIV, malaria and obesity. The organisation managed to
persuade both
Lionel Messi and Ronaldo to join forces for the initiative.
[346][347]
2013–14 season
On 30 July 2013, Barcelona drew 2–2 against Lechia Gdańsk in a preseason friendly; this was Neymar's unofficial debut with the team, and he came on as a substitute.[64] On 7 August 2013, Neymar scored his first goal in a Barcelona shirt during a 7–1 friendly win over the Thailand national team in Bangkok.[65]
On 11 May 2012, Neymar was selected in the squad for the Brazil Olympic football team to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Games.[89][90] In Brazil's first warm-up match on 20 July 2012, against the host nation Great Britain at Riverside Stadium,
Neymar was involved in both goals of a 2–0 win, first making an assist
in the opener after floating a free-kick into the six-yard box for Sandro's header, before converting a penalty.[91] On 26 July 2012, Neymar scored his first goal of the 2012 Summer Olympics in Brazil's opening fixture against Egypt, which ended a 3–2 victory for Brazil.[92] In the following match against Belarus, Neymar scored a free-kick from 25-yards into the top-right corner of the goal and set up goals for Alexandre Pato's header with a cross from the right and Oscar
with a back heel as Brazil secured their place in the quarter-finals
with a 3–1 win. Afterwards he said: "I scored and made two assists so
for me it was perfect".[93][94]
