Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born February 5, 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and captains the Portugal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, having won five Ballon d’Ors, a record three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards, four European Golden Shoes, and FIFA’s World Player of the Year five times.
He has won 34 trophies in his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles and the UEFA European Championship. He has the most goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, 14 goals and 8 assists in the European Championship, and 226 international appearances and 143 goals.
Ronaldo is the only player who has scored 100 goals for four separate clubs. He has over 1,300 professional career appearances, the most of any outfield player, and has scored over 950 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the all-time leading goalscorer.
Cristiano Ronaldo Biography
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Portugal, on Madeira, a small island off the country’s southwest coast. He is the youngest of the four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and José Dinis Aveiro. He was named after former US President Ronald Reagan, one of his father’s favourite performers.
Ronaldo grew up in a predominantly working-class neighbourhood, in a modest tin-roofed house overlooking the ocean. He learnt about football from his father, who used to work as an equipment manager at a boys’ club.
His early life was marked by adversity, as his father frequently drank excessively. Ronaldo’s mother worked as a chef and cleaner to provide for the children and maintain financial security. The teenage athlete had repeatedly pushed his father to undergo rehab and address his drinking. His father, however, did not accept the offer.
By his early teens, Ronaldo’s talent and renown had increased significantly. After a time at Nacional da Liha da Madeira, he joined Sporting Portugal in 2001.
Ronaldo’s father died of kidney complications caused by alcohol in 2005, while he was playing for Manchester United. The loss was particularly difficult for the then-20-year-old footballer because he and his father had been close. Two years later, Ronaldo’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment was successful; however, she experienced a relapse of the condition in 2019. Maria also suffered a stroke in 2020, which necessitated surgery.
Career
On August 12, 2003, little than a week after the friendly that pleased Ferguson, Manchester United paid £12 million for Ronaldo, an England record for a youngster. This also made him the first Portuguese player to sign with the club.
Although he requested the number 28, his Sporting number, he was given the squad number 7, which had previously been used by United stars like as George Best, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. Ronaldo found that wearing the number 7 added to his motivation.
On August 16, 2003, Ronaldo made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 4-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers. Best praised his performance, calling it “undoubtedly the most exciting debut” he had ever seen. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United, a free kick, in a 3-0 victory over Portsmouth on November 1. Ronaldo scored the opening goal in a win over Aston Villa on May 15, 2004, but was later sent his first red card. Ronaldo finished his debut season in English football with a trophy, netting the first goal in United’s 3-0 victory over Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup final.
Ronaldo had two of his best games of the 2004-05 season at the start of 2005, scoring twice against Arsenal and providing an assist against Aston Villa. Ronaldo won his second English football trophy, the Football League Cup, by scoring the third goal in United’s 4-0 final victory over Wigan Athletic.
Ronaldo scored his first hat-trick for United in a 6-0 victory over Newcastle United on January 12, 2008. With 31 league goals, he won both the Premier League Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe, becoming the first winger to do so. He also won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year honours for the second straight season.
United advanced to the final against Chelsea in Moscow on May 21, where, despite his first goal being neutralised by an equaliser and his penalty kick being saved in the shootout, United won 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
Ronaldo was crowned UEFA Club Footballer of the Year after scoring the most goals in the Champions League. Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first Ballon d’Or winner since Best in 1968, as well as the first Premier League player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-world record fee of £80 million. At least 80,000 people attended his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu, breaking the 25-year record of 75,000 fans who welcomed Diego Maradona to Napoli.
Ronaldo made his La Liga debut against Deportivo La Coruña on August 29, scoring a penalty in a 3-2 home victory. He scored in his first four league games, becoming the first Madrid player to accomplish so. His first Champions League goals for the club came from two free kicks in the first group match against Zürich.
His excellent start to the season was cut short when he injured his ankle while on international duty in October, sidelining him for seven weeks. Despite scoring 33 goals in all competitions and contributing to Real Madrid’s 96 La Liga points, his first season in Madrid ended without a trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke Raúl’s record by scoring 230 goals in 203 matches for Real Madrid on September 12, 2015, against Espanyol. Ronaldo also became the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer with a hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk in the first group match, after finishing level with Messi on 77 goals the previous season.
Ronaldo signed for Juventus in 2018 for €100 million, the biggest transfer ever for a player over 30 years old and the highest paid by an Italian club. Ronaldo stated a desire for a new challenge as his reason for leaving Madrid when he signed, but later blamed the move on a lack of support from club president Florentino Pérez.
Ronaldo won his first prize with the club on January 16, 2019, the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana, by scoring the only goal with a header against AC Milan. On February 10, Ronaldo scored in a 3-0 win over Sassuolo, his ninth consecutive away game in the league, equalling Giuseppe Signori’s single-season Serie A record for most consecutive away games with at least one goal. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Juventus’ 3-0 home win over Atlético in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, enabling them to overturn a two-goal deficit and advance to the quarter-finals.
Manchester United announced on August 27, 2021, that they had achieved a deal with Juventus to re-sign Ronaldo, subject to personal terms, visa, and medical. Ronaldo was assigned the number 7 shirt when Edinson Cavani decided to wear 21. The first 24 hours of Ronaldo’s shirt sales were said to have smashed the record following a transfer, surpassing Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain.
After growing dissatisfaction with United’s direction on and off the pitch, Ronaldo desired to leave to join a Champions League club, but a move did not materialise, with various European clubs refusing a transfer due to his age, overall transfer cost, and high wage demands.
Shortly after, he fell out with manager Erik ten Hag, who used him as a substitute, prompting United to terminate his contract on November 22, following an interview with Piers Morgan in which Ronaldo stated that he felt “betrayed” by Ten Hag and lambasted the club’s administration.
On December 30, 2022, Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr signed an agreement to sign Ronaldo to a contract until 2025. Ronaldo received the largest football wage ever, at €200 million per year, including a guaranteed football income of €90 million, plus commercial and sponsorship deals totalling €200 million.
He made his Al-Nassr debut as club captain on January 22, 2023, playing the entire 90 minutes of a 1-0 victory over Al-Ettifaq, and scored his first goal in a 2-2 tie with Al-Fateh by converting a last-minute penalty.
On February 9, Ronaldo scored all four goals in a 4-0 victory over Al-Wehda, with his first goal being his 500th league goal. According to the BBC, Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr sparked a “revolution” in Asian football, with numerous players from other leagues, mainly from Europe, going to Saudi Pro League clubs for the 2023-24 season.
Ronaldo finished the 2024-25 season with 25 league goals, becoming the league’s leading scorer for the second straight season.
International Career
At the age of 18, Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal as a substitute against Kazakhstan on August 20, 2003. In his tenth international debut, he scored his first goal in a 2-1 loss to Greece in the group stage of UEFA Euro 2004. Despite Portugal’s loss to Greece in the final, Ronaldo made the tournament’s best team, with two assists and two goals.
Ronaldo became Portugal’s youngest ever World Cup goalscorer in 2006, at the age of 21 years and 132 days. Portugal advanced to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by France, with Ronaldo being booed during the game owing to an incident in the quarter-final against England. FIFA’s Technical Study Group passed over him for the tournament’s Best Young Player title, which went to Germany’s Lukas Podolski, citing his conduct as a factor in the decision.
On October 9, he scored the first goal in a 3-0 friendly victory against Qatar at the Estádio Algarve; with his 181st international appearance, he surpassed Sergio Ramos’ record for the most international caps by a European player. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Portugal’s 5-0 victory over Luxembourg on October 12, making him the first player in men’s international football history to score ten hat-tricks.
On November 24, 2022, Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cups by converting a penalty against Ghana.
Ronaldo became the first player to appear in six European Championships when he started Portugal’s UEFA Euro 2024 opener against the Czech Republic, following his appearance in five. Later that year, on September 5, he scored his 900th career goal in the UEFA Nations League, defeating Croatia 2-1. Ronaldo won his second UEFA Nations League title on June 8, 2025, as Portugal defeated Spain in the final, scoring 8 goals in 9 games.
On October 14, Ronaldo scored twice in a 2-2 draw against Hungary in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, bringing his total to 41 goals. Ronaldo was sent off on November 14, 2025, after elbowing defender Dara O’Shea in the back during Portugal’s 2-0 loss to Ireland in the World Cup qualifiers in Dublin.
Cristiano Ronaldo Stats
Here are some of Ronaldo’s other notable figures, with records in bold, according to the UEFA Champions League catalogue.
- Men’s international appearances: 225
- UEFA Champions League matches: 183
- UEFA Champions League goals: 140
- UEFA Champions League final wins: 5
- UEFA European Championship matches (with qualifiers): 74
- UEFA European Championship finals goals: 14
- FIFA World Cup matches: 22
- FIFA World Cup goals: 8
- Ballon d’Or wins: 5
Cristiano Ronaldo Wife
Ronaldo has five children. He first had a son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., on June 17, 2010, in the United States. He has full custody of the child and has not publicly revealed the mother’s identity per their agreement. Ronaldo Jr. is a junior footballer who represents Portugal’s Under-15s. Ronaldo called it quits on his five-year relationship with Russian beauty Irina Shayk in January 2015. Then, on June 8, 2017, Ronaldo became the father of twins born in the United States via surrogacy.
Ronaldo is in a relationship with Argentine-born Spanish model Georgina Rodríguez, who gave birth to a daughter on November 12, 2017. The couple planned to have another set of twins in 2022. The male twin died upon birthing, while the female twin survived. On August 11, 2025, Rodriguez announced their engagement on Instagram.
Sexual Assault Investigation
In 2018, Las Vegas police revived a nine-year-old investigation into allegations that Ronaldo raped a woman in his hotel room. The accuser also launched a legal complaint against the famous athlete.
The following summer, the district attorney for Clark County, Nevada, declared that after reviewing the matter, he would not pursue criminal charges against Ronaldo.
Ronaldo Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ronaldo’s total worth is expected to be over $1.2 billion as of 2025. Other sources confirm Ronaldo’s billionaire status, with Bloomberg reporting an even higher net worth of $1.4 billion.
Ronaldo is the first soccer player to reach billionaire status, with only seven other athletes having done so, according to The New York Post. Jordan, Woods, Roger Federer, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, and Ion Èširiac round out the list.
In May 2025, Ronaldo topped Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes for the fifth time. He earned an estimated $275 million, largely from his lucrative deal with Al-Nassr. Sportico estimated his earnings to be slightly lower at $260 million.
Ronaldo’s long and prosperous career has placed him among the top 50 highest-paid athletes of all time, according to Sportico. The publication placed him third on their April 2025 list. Ronaldo’s $2.3 billion in inflation-adjusted career earnings are only exceeded by Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Social Media
Instagram: @cristiano
