Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional <a href="/facts/Association_football/yttjeD0D">footballer</a> who plays as a <a href="/facts/Forward_(association_football)/4SVXG5FM">forward</a> for and <a href="/facts/Captain_(association_football)/AjsKfxbJ">captains</a> both <a href="/facts/Saudi_Pro_League/LE1AX34M">Saudi Pro League</a> club <a href="/facts/Al-Nassr_FC/5Q6XGPHR">Al-Nassr</a> and the <a href="/facts/Portugal_national_football_team/npcIh0mR">Portugal national team</a>. Nicknamed CR7, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and has won numerous <a href="/facts/List_of_career_achievements_by_Cristiano_Ronaldo/ImyRuRbE">individual accolades</a> throughout <a href="/facts/Career_of_Cristiano_Ronaldo/Aex22PkQ">his professional footballing career</a>, including five <a href="/facts/Ballon_d%2527Or/8cGx60os">Ballon d'Or</a> awards, a record three <a href="/facts/UEFA_Men%2527s_Player_of_the_Year_Award/2UplMa03">UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards</a>, four <a href="/facts/European_Golden_Shoe/1LmKSTru">European Golden Shoes</a>, and was named five times the <a href="/facts/The_Best_FIFA_Men%2527s_Player/YzkpAGDt">world's best player</a> by <a href="/facts/FIFA/wC2aqLnn">FIFA</a>. He has won <a href="/facts/List_of_career_achievements_by_Cristiano_Ronaldo/ImyRuRbE">34 trophies in his career</a>, including seven league titles, five <a href="/facts/UEFA_Champions_League/h1ao7NDp">UEFA Champions Leagues</a> and the <a href="/facts/UEFA_European_Championship/EFWkyW5j">UEFA European Championship</a>. Ronaldo holds the records for most <a href="/facts/List_of_UEFA_Champions_League_top_scorers/H5JWFbWB">goals</a> (140) and <a href="/facts/European_Cup_and_UEFA_Champions_League_records_and_statistics/o8KlWUQb">assists</a> (42) in the Champions League, <a href="/facts/UEFA_European_Championship_top_goalscorers/myNwbWd8">goals</a> (14) and assists (8) in the European Championship, and most <a href="/facts/List_of_men%2527s_footballers_with_100_or_more_international_caps/UF1NJ91H">international appearances</a> (221) and <a href="/facts/List_of_men%2527s_footballers_with_50_or_more_international_goals/7B4Q6ryC">international goals</a> (138). He is one of the few players to have made <a href="/facts/List_of_men%2527s_footballers_with_1%2c000_or_more_official_appearances/8o1NCRxS">over 1,200 professional career appearances</a>, the most by an <a href="/facts/Outfield/vnqtz900">outfield</a> player, and has scored <a href="/facts/List_of_footballers_with_500_or_more_goals/IpNHktD4">over 900 official senior career goals</a> for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
Ronaldo began his senior career with <a href="/facts/Sporting_CP/vbgkjVcB">Sporting CP</a>, before signing with <a href="/facts/Manchester_United_F.C./wmNVnVtQ">Manchester United</a> in 2003, winning the <a href="/facts/FA_Cup/nq1hRAUw">FA Cup</a> in his first season. He went on to become a star player at United, as they won three consecutive <a href="/facts/Premier_League/nfXVuAYa">Premier League</a> titles, the Champions League and the <a href="/facts/FIFA_Club_World_Cup/YF82Ivbb">FIFA Club World Cup</a>; his <a href="/facts/2007%25E2%2580%259308_Manchester_United_F.C._season/saWYYotL">2007–08</a> season earned him his first Ballon d'Or, aged 23. Ronaldo was the subject of the then-<a href="/facts/Most_expensive_association_football_transfer/JCoATMSs">most expensive association football transfer</a> when he signed for <a href="/facts/Real_Madrid_CF/1xVKbM0V">Real Madrid</a> in 2009 in a <a href="/facts/Transfer_(association_football)/uPwlP6qj">transfer</a> worth €94 million (£80 million). He was integral to Madrid becoming a dominant force again, as they won four Champions Leagues from 2014 to 2018, including <a href="/facts/La_D%25C3%25A9cima/7PVGkzdw">La Décima</a>. He won back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards in <a href="/facts/2013_FIFA_Ballon_d%2527Or/cx3cjkVS">2013</a> and <a href="/facts/2014_FIFA_Ballon_d%2527Or/CS2tqnBz">2014</a>, and again in <a href="/facts/2016_Ballon_d%2527Or/v25IIVhG">2016</a> and <a href="/facts/2017_Ballon_d%2527Or/hzu1NPF0">2017</a>, and was runner-up three times behind <a href="/facts/Lionel_Messi/6nXmXIUH">Lionel Messi</a>, his perceived <a href="/facts/Messi%25E2%2580%2593Ronaldo_rivalry/rhlJLXIy">career rival</a>. He also became the club's <a href="/facts/List_of_Real_Madrid_CF_records_and_statistics/364lFEkH">all-time top goalscorer</a> and finished as the Champions League's top scorer for six consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2018. With Madrid, Ronaldo's additional titles include two <a href="/facts/La_Liga/IGK1ayKP">La Liga</a> titles, including a record-breaking title win in <a href="/facts/2011%25E2%2580%259312_La_Liga/cgJPKNCo">2011-12</a>, and two <a href="/facts/Copa_del_Rey/qA9ho6uV">Copas del Rey</a>. In 2018, following issues with the Madrid hierarchy, Ronaldo made a surprise transfer to <a href="/facts/Juventus_FC/HJJlKv8J">Juventus</a> in a transfer worth an initial €100 million (£88 million). He won several trophies in Italy, including two <a href="/facts/Serie_A/xyJvqTtK">Serie A</a> titles and a <a href="/facts/Coppa_Italia/gtU348d9">Coppa Italia</a>, and broke several records for Juventus. He returned to United in 2021; despite a collectively disappointing season, Ronaldo's individual performances earned him being included in the <a href="/facts/PFA_Team_of_the_Year/mm2TW3Uc">PFA Team of the Year</a> at 37 years old. His contract was terminated in 2022 due to a fall out with the <a href="/facts/Erik_ten_Hag/b1YJXPfw">newly appointed manager</a>, and in 2023 he signed for Al-Nassr, a move that has since been widely credited for revolutionising football in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18 and has earned more than <a href="/facts/List_of_men%2527s_footballers_with_100_or_more_international_caps/UF1NJ91H">200 caps</a>, making him history's most-capped male player. Ronaldo has played in eleven major tournaments and scored in ten; he scored his first international goal at <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2004/CMHmYY3e">Euro 2004</a>, where he helped Portugal reach <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2004_Final/3y9GV98c">the final</a> and subsequently made the <a href="/facts/UEFA_European_Championship_awards/ahFSVIta">team of the tournament</a>. In the <a href="/facts/2006_FIFA_World_Cup/esV0aC00">2006 FIFA World Cup</a>, his first World Cup, he was a focal part to Portugal ultimately finishing in fourth place. He assumed <a href="/facts/List_of_Portugal_national_football_team_captains/BFmCxRlq">captaincy</a> of the national team in July 2008 ahead of <a href="/facts/Euro_2008/WAIJX5Sv">Euro 2008</a>; four years later, at <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2012/Ej1LA1z3">Euro 2012</a>, he was named to the team of the tournament. In 2015, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the <a href="/facts/Portuguese_Football_Federation/MMWVMUdQ">Portuguese Football Federation</a>. The following year, he led Portugal to their first major tournament title at <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2016/FT4X5tYG">Euro 2016</a>, being named in the team of the tournament for the third time and receiving the <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2016/FT4X5tYG">Silver Boot</a> as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament. This achievement saw him receive his <a href="/facts/2016_Ballon_d%2527Or/v25IIVhG">fourth Ballon d'Or</a>. In <a href="/facts/2018_world_cup/156gktLT">2018</a>, Ronaldo had his most prolific World Cup campaign and was voted in the <a href="/facts/2018_FIFA_World_Cup/156gktLT">Fan Dream Team</a>. He led his country to victory in the inaugural <a href="/facts/UEFA_Nations_League/PdW87335">UEFA Nations League</a> in <a href="/facts/2018%25E2%2580%259319_UEFA_Nations_League/nD7e8DYe">2019</a>, and received the <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2020/0B3G9JIb">Golden Boot</a> as the top scorer of <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2020/0B3G9JIb">Euro 2020</a>. In the <a href="/facts/2022_FIFA_World_Cup/vN9s5YYA">2022 World Cup</a>, he became the first player to score at five World Cups. He won the Nations League a second time in <a href="/facts/2024%25E2%2580%259325_UEFA_Nations_League/PdW87335">2025</a>.

One of the world's most marketable and famous athletes, Ronaldo was ranked the <a href="/facts/Forbes_list_of_the_world%2527s_highest-paid_athletes/0fEIcKTu">world's highest-paid athlete</a> by <a href="/facts/Forbes/lyULpGhW">Forbes</a> in 2016, 2017, 2023, and 2024 and the world's most famous athlete by <a href="/facts/ESPN/1FeLYofR">ESPN</a> from 2016 to 2019. He is the first footballer and the third sportsman to earn US$1 billion in his career. <a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a> included him on their list of the <a href="/facts/Time_100/12J5tflY">100 most influential people in the world</a> in 2014. Ronaldo is the most popular sportsperson on social media: he counts over 1 billion total followers across <a href="/facts/Facebook/0IhXFR6u">Facebook</a>, <a href="/facts/Twitter/VWwDNGUm">Twitter</a>, <a href="/facts/YouTube/db276jst">YouTube</a> and <a href="/facts/Instagram/33s91jnV">Instagram</a>, making him the first person to achieve that feat. Ronaldo was named in the <a href="/facts/UEFA_Team_of_the_Year/P689LSqK">UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year</a> in 2015, the <a href="/facts/UEFA_European_Championship_awards/ahFSVIta">All-time UEFA Euro XI</a> in 2016, and the <a href="/facts/Ballon_d%2527Or_Dream_Team/14W7fyfW">Ballon d'Or Dream Team</a> in 2020. In recognition of his record-breaking goalscoring success, he received special awards for <a href="/facts/The_Best_FIFA_Football_Awards/7G56v2VB">Outstanding Career Achievement</a> by FIFA in 2021 and <a href="/facts/List_of_UEFA_Champions_League_top_scorers/H5JWFbWB">Champions League All-Time Top Scorer</a> by <a href="/facts/UEFA/UafFnEBe">UEFA</a> in 2024.

Cristiano Ronaldo open-in-new

Cristiano Ronaldo