Cristiano Ronaldo
Left Winger / Centre-Forward · Real Madrid · Portugal
About Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the two dominant forces of his generation. A five-time Ballon d'Or winner and the all-time top scorer in Champions League history, he also holds the world record for most international goals. His athleticism, work ethic, and goal-scoring machine status are unparalleled.
Cristiano Ronaldo's story
Son of Madeira
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He was the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. The family were poor and lived in a small house that they occasionally shared with other families. His father struggled with alcoholism throughout Cristiano's childhood — a source of deep, private pain that Ronaldo has spoken about carefully in later life. José Dinis died in 2005, aged just 52, of liver failure — the same year his son became one of the most famous athletes on earth. Ronaldo has said publicly that his greatest regret is that his father never saw him at his best.
Heart Operation & Determination
As a teenager, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart — tachycardia — that required laser surgery. He was back training within days of the operation. This ferocious will became his trademark. Sir Alex Ferguson, who signed him for Manchester United at 18, described him as the most dedicated professional he ever managed: the last to leave training, obsessive about diet, completely single-minded. At United, Ronaldo transformed himself from a flashy winger into a complete goal-scorer — driven, he has said, by a desperate desire to be the best.
Georgina & Family
Ronaldo has five children. His eldest son, Cristiano Jr, was born via surrogate in 2010 — Ronaldo has never revealed the mother's identity and says he never will. More children followed via surrogate before Georgina gave birth to their fourth child in November 2017. Tragically, in 2022 Ronaldo lost a newborn son — one of another set of twins — while the boy's sister Bella Esmeralda survived. Ronaldo's statement about the loss was one of the most painful public moments of his career. He met Georgina, a Spanish model, in a Gucci store in Madrid (ESP) in 2016. They have been together since and she is widely described as the emotional anchor of his life.
The Machine
Ronaldo is defined by his physicality and self-belief. He keeps his body fat below 10%. He does not drink alcohol or coffee. Friends describe a man of intense warmth within a tight inner circle and a fierce competitive ego that never switches off. He has said he hopes to play until he is 40. Most who know him believe he will.
Al Nassr & Legacy
His move to Al Nassr in 2023 was controversial — critics called it the end. He simply carried on scoring. He holds the world record for international goals and caps for a male outfield player. Whatever the final verdict on his rivalry with Messi, his physical and statistical achievement across four decades of elite football is without parallel.
Did you know?
- 🥅 Passed 140 Champions League goals during Real Madrid's 2013-14 title-winning campaign — 'La Décima', the club's tenth European Cup.
- 🌍 His international tally keeps climbing well past his own milestones — he surpassed Ali Daei's long-standing men's football record years ago and has extended the gap in almost every squad appearance since.
- 👨👩👧👦 Has five children: son Cristiano Jr. (2010) and twins Eva and Mateo (2017) via surrogate; daughter Alana Martina (2017) and son Bella Esmeralda (2022) with partner Georgina Rodríguez. Based in Saudi Arabia.
- 🇵🇹 Helped Portugal win their first major international trophy — UEFA Euro 2016 — despite going off injured in the final.
- 📱 The most followed person on Instagram with over 600 million followers.
- 👶 As a teenager, he had an operation to correct a heart condition (tachycardia) that could have ended his career before it began.
- 🏨 He has built a global commercial empire including the Pestana CR7 hotel chain, a CR7 fragrance line, and his own underwear brand — all while still playing professional football.
- 😴 He reportedly sleeps in five separate 90-minute cycles per day, monitored by a sleep coach, and keeps a cryotherapy chamber at home for recovery.
- 💔 In April 2022, Ronaldo and partner Georgina announced that one of their newborn twins had died during childbirth. His public statement about the loss moved millions around the world.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League x5: 2008 (Man Utd), 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 (Real Madrid)
- Premier League x3: 2007, 2008, 2009 — Manchester United
- La Liga x2: 2012, 2017 — Real Madrid
- Serie A x2: 2019, 2020 — Juventus
- UEFA Euro: 2016 — Portugal
- UEFA Nations League: 2019 — Portugal
- Ballon d'Or x5: 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
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