Everything You Need to Know about Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best football players in the world. The 35-year-old Portuguese striker has won multiple awards and has scored 626 goals through 836 career matches across a variety of leagues and competition levels. In 2019, he was ranked as the second-best forward in the world in the ESPN FC 100. Business Insider, meanwhile, ranked him №27 in its Top 50 players in the world list. Here is a breakdown of the accomplished player’s career:
Successful Heart Surgery
Not only is Ronaldo among the best football players of his generation, he is also one of the most popular athletes worldwide, with almost 400 million followers across social media platforms through 2019. By comparison, NBA star LeBron James had only 121.8 million followers at the end of 2019. In a sense, Ronaldo is synonymous with football. However, there was a point in time in which it was uncertain as to whether or not he would be able to play football.
When he was 15 years old, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a form of tachycardia known as racing heart. After undergoing several medical examinations, he opted to have delicate laser surgery to treat the condition. “He was operated on in the morning and came out at the end of the afternoon,” his mother, Dolores Aveiro, said during an interview with the Daily Mail in 2009. “Before we knew exactly what he had, I was worried because there was the possibility of him giving up playing football. But the treatment went well and after some days he was back at training again.”
Professional Debut in 2002
As a teenager, Ronaldo played in Portugal for Clube Desportivo Nacional of Medeira before joining Sporting Lisbon. He played for the latter’s youth program and, in 2002, made his professional debut with its first team. He played in 31 games during the 2002–03 season, scored five goals, and added five assists. His performance as a teenager in Portugal’s top football league garnered him the attention of England’s Manchester United, which is among the most revered football clubs in all of Europe.
Manchester United and Real Madrid
Ronaldo spent seven seasons at Manchester United and blossomed into one of the most talented strikers in the world. He scored 118 goals in 292 matches with the team. His best season came in 2007–08, when he scored 42 goals in League and Cup competition. He led Manchester United to a Champions League title that season and was awarded FIFA Player of the Year.
Capitalizing on his rising market value, Manchester United traded Ronaldo to Spanish club Real Madrid for what was a record $131 million transfer fee. He continued to prove himself as one of the world’s elite forwards by scoring a La Liga record 40 goals during the 2010–11 season. He improved upon that number in the following year by scoring 46 goals while also leading Real Madrid to a league championship. Ronaldo has scored an impressive 450 goals throughout 438 matches with Real Madrid.
Joins Juventus FC in Italy
After leading Real Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League title in 2018, Ronaldo signed a four-year, $132 million contract with Juventus FC of Italy’s Serie A. As of May 18, he had 53 goals through 75 matches since joining the team. In December 2019, he was named the best player in Serie A at the annual Gran Gala del Calcio in Milan.
Five-Time Ballon d’Or Winner
First awarded in 1956, the Ballon d’Or award is designated for the top football player in the world. Ronaldo is one of only three players to win the award since 2008 with the others being Lionel Messi and Luka Modric of Argentina and Croatia, respectively. Ronaldo won the award for the first time in 2008 while playing for Manchester United and later won it in four of five years from 2013 to 2017 while playing for Real Madrid. Ronaldo and Messi were tied for the all-time lead with five awards apiece in 2019, but the latter won it for a record sixth time.
International Career
Ronaldo isn’t only well-regarded for his success at the club level. He has scored 99 goals in 164 career matches for his native Portugal. While he has yet to win a World Cup — the 2018 World Cup might have been his last opportunity — he helped to lead Portugal to a championship victory at the UEFA Euro 2016. Portugal defeated France in the final, and Ronaldo won the Silver Boot award after scoring three goals and adding three assists in 625 minutes of game action. The victory came 12 years after he helped Portugal reach the final of the UEFA Euro 2004.
Regarding his individual performance in the World Cup, Ronaldo scored only one goal in each of the 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Cups. While Portugal lost to Uruguay in the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, Ronaldo redeemed himself from an individual standpoint, as he scored four goals in the first two games of the tournament.
