Cristiano Ronaldo History

History

Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro, is a Portuguese footballer who as a winger for the Spanish club Real Madrid & server as the captain of the Portuegese National Team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of bieng the most expensive player in football history after having transferred to Real Madrid in a deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-aid player in the world.

 Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at CD Nacional and his successes with the team led to a move to Sporting Club De Portugal two seasons afterwards. Ronaldo's precocious talent cought the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18 year old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the UEFA EURO 2004 Final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named Player of The Tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of The Year and the FIFA World Player of The Year, in addition to becoming Manchester united's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.
Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great player in the history of United.

Early Life

Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February in Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores Dos Santos Aveiro. His second given name, "Ronaldo," was chosen after than US Ronald Reagan, who was father favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters Elma and Liliana Catia.

Club Career

Early Career

At the age of Eight, Ronaldo player for the amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with the local club CD 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.

Sporting CP

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth player who trained at the Alcochete, the club's football academy. He became the only player to play fot Sporting's U-16, U-17, U-18, B-Team and first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against Moreirense, while featuring in Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.
When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condtion 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 laser was used in the area what was causing problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.

He was first spotted by then Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier at 16, but Liverpool declined to take him because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills. 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 inaugration of the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United player, who urged Ferguson to sign him.

Manchester United

2003-2005

Ronaldo became Manchester United first ever Portugese player when he signed for 12.24m Pounds after the 2002-03 season. He requested the nimber 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 worn by player such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like, I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you are goito have number 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to up to such an honour."

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. He scored United's thousandth Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4-1 loss to Midddlesbrough. He scored ten goals in all competetions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of The Year Award in 2005.

2006-07

In November and December, Ronaldo recieved consecutive Barclays Player of The Month honour, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996. He scored his 5oth Manchester United goal against the city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted in his second cosecutive 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 54m Pounds for Ronaldo, he signed a five year, 120,000 Pounds a week extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in the team history.

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 player to recieve this honour. In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of The Year. Ronaldo was also one of the seven Manchester United Player named in the 2006-07 PFA Premier League Team of The Year.

2007-08

Ronaldo's 2007-08 season with a red card for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during United's second match of the season, for which he was punish a three-match ban. Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let player "provoke" him in the future. 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.

He finished as the runner-up to Kaka for the 2007 Ballon d'Or , and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of The Year, behind Kaka and Lionel Messi.

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. He scored his 23rd league goal of the season in a 2-0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006-07 season. During a 1-1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 Februrary, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser on Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA. One month later, Lyon were fined CHF 5,000 for the incident.

On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory. 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 1967-78 season. 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 torrid 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 Guiza.

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 6-5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans' Man of The Match, and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competetions, falling just four short of Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963-64 season.

2008-09

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. Manchester United filed a tempering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action. Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at Manchester for at least another year.

Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July. He returned to action on 17 September in United's UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung, and scored his first overall 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 competetions for Manchester United, both from free kicks. the goals also meant that Ronaldo had scored against each of the other 19 teams in Premier League at the time. On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipent since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United wo the Club World Cup on 19 December.

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 brethalyzer test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning. Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of The Year, in addition to bieng the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luis Figo in 2001.
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2-0 victory over Intenazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals. Un the second leg agains Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard-game-winner goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored. 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 competetions, 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 Pounds from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club. It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson. 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.

Real Madrid
On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract. It is believed that Ronaldo's contract is worth 13 million Euro per season and it has a 1 billion Euro buy-out clause. He was presented to world's media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July 2009, where he was handed the number 9 jersey, most recently worn by Javier Saviola, who left for Benfica in Portugal. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano. Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.
Ronaldo made his deput for Real on 21 July against Irish side Shamrock Rovers; Madrid won the match 1-0 after a late goal from Karim Benzema. His first goal for the club, a penalty, came in other pre-season friendly, against Ecuadorian team LDU Quito. 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 Coruna. On 15 September, Ronaldo had a successful start to his Champions League career at Madrid, as he scored two goals away agains FC Zurich in a 5-2 win, both of which were free-kicks. Ronaldo scored a brace for Real during a 5-0 win over newly-promoted Xerez at the Bernabeu on 20 September, he scored in Real's next match against Villareal, thus breaking a club record by becoming the first ever player to score in his first four League matches. Ronaldo continued his fine from the Real in his next Champions League game on 30 September, against Marseille, scoring two goals in a 3-0 victory at the Bernabeu.

International Career
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003. He was called up for Euro 2004, scoring in a 2-1 group stage oss to eventual champions Greece and in a 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands. He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals. That same year, he also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

2006 World Cup
Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup Qualification in the European Zone with seven (7) goals, and scored his first and only World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.
During a quarter-final match against England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldo's United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on Potugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horaico Elizondo's decesion 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. On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooney's infraction and not the fraces between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United, and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid. In responce 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. Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension inn April 2007.
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semifinal defeat to France, and missed out on the competetion's Best Young Player Award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans. 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 decesion.