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This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is dos Santos and the second is Aveiro.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985),[2] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after having transferred to Real Madrid from Manchester United in a deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid football player in the world.[3]Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager 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 Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

Early life
Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 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.[7] His second given name, "Ronaldo", was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor.[8] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[2]
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.[9]
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 U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team, all within one season.[10] He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.[11]
He was first spotted by then-Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills.[13] 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.[14]
Manchester United
2003–2005
Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for £12.24 million after the 2002–03 season.[15] 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 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'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."[16]
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 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough.[17] He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
2006–2007
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.[18][19] 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,[20] 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.[21][22]
2007–2008
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.[24] Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future.[25] 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.[26]
He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or,[27] and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.[28]
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.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31] One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.[32]
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,[36] 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.
2008–2009
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.[37] 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.[38][39] Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at Manchester for at least another year.[40]
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 breathalyzer test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.[47] 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.[48]
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.[52] It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.[53] 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."[54]
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.[55] It is believed that Ronaldo's contract is worth €13 million per season and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.[56] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,[57] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.[58] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo di Stéfano.[59] Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 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.[60]
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary,[65] kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. 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 in Madrid'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.[66]
International career
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a
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.[75] 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.[76]
Ronaldo was booed during Portugal's semi-final defeat to France,[82] and missed out on the competition's Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans.[83] 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.[84]
Personal life
Ronaldo's father, José Dinis Aveiro, died of alcoholism at age 52 when Ronaldo was 20. Ronaldo has claimed not to drink alcohol as a result, and has received libel damages over a Daily Mirror that reported him drinking heavily in a nightculb while recovering from an injury in July 2008.[94]

Ronaldo's autobiography, titled Moments, was published in December 2007.[95] Along with one of his sisters, Ronaldo opened a fashion boutique under the name "CR7" (his initials and old Manchester United shirt number).[96] There are currently two CR7 store locations, both of which are in Portugal; one in Lisbon and the other in Madeira.

In support of the victims of the 2010 Madeira flood, as a famous Madeiran Ronaldo is to play in a charity match in Madeira, between the Portuguese Liga club Porto and players from Madeiran based Portuguese Liga clubs Marítimo and Nacional.[97] 1–0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003.[67] He was called up for Euro 2004,[68] scoring in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece[69] and in a 2–1 semi-final win over the Netherlands.[70] He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals.[71] That same year, he also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[72][73]
2006 World Cup
Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals,[71] and scored his first and only World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick.[74]
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.