Cristiano Ronaldo, a well known football player is an Alpha king in the sports World. He has created his own history being a present himself.
“I see football as an art and all players are artists. If you are a top artist, the last thing you would do is paint a picture somebody else has already painted.” – Cristiano Ronaldo
He’s a person with a golden heart. Recently he sold his golden boots so as to donate the money to fund schools in Gaza for needy children, and won the hearts of millions. He created many fans of him apart from his football fandom.
He has also joined FIFA’s 11 for Health Foundation. The foundation aims to create awareness about HIV, obesity, malaria and drug addiction, amongst the youth and the targeted age group.
Having 453 million followers on Instagram and over 100 million followers on Twitter, he is a role model of many people across the world.
He is Portuguese by nationality. Many people know him as Cristiano Ronaldo but his full name is a little lengthy i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. Being the highest paid footballer in the world and in the history of the world, he earns a base salary of $40 million and $30 million from endorsements. In 2014, he ranked the list of world’s highest paid players with income $73 million that year. Later in 2017 his annual income accounted for a total of $93 million.
Achievements and career
“If you think you’re perfect already, then you never will be.”- Cristiano Ronaldo.
Talking about his achievements one’s eyes can be squinted by the shine and number of trophies he has received.
In 2004 he received his first trophy, The FA Cup. In England in 2007 he became the first player to receive all the four main PFA and FWA awards. The next year he won 3 main PFA and FWA trophies and gained the title of The FIFA World Player of the Year , FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d’Or.
Also the magnite title of FWA footballer of the year. Next He became the world’s most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million) and the list goes on, there was no turning back on this success.
Family
On 5 February 1985 Ronaldo was born in a poor family with father, José Dinis Aveiro , who was a gardener who earned with difficulty. His mother, Maria Dolores dos Santos, worked as a cook to financially support her family. He has two elder sisters, Katia Aveiro a popular Portuguese singer and Elma a famous Instagram star and Hugo dos Santos Aveiro , his brother.
He has four children with his wife, Georgina Rodriguez, with whom he tied the knot in 2016. She’s a model, business woman and a dancer. Modest with her simple self she has played a perfect role in supporting him and adoring him since they started dating. They welcomed their baby girl in 2021.
Early life
Named after the US president Ronald Reagan, he was born in a poor family and had to face many hardships. He lived together with his siblings and parents in Funchal , Portugal. He shared a room with his elder sisters and brother. Being the home aura not very enchanting, Ronaldo was keen on playing football. At the age of 8 he started playing football.
One of the reasons that pushed Ronaldo to the sport was running from work. He disliked doing his homework and then he started engaging himself in sports which made him interested and fond of football and then he started playing willingly without running for any reason.
He began to excel in sports and was also named as “cry baby” by his friends and mates because he used to cry while passing the ball to his teammates who couldn’t score. He was also called out as “little bee” because he was as quick and fast as a bee. Though the latter name justified his personality and skills.
At 14 years of age being a school tomboy he was expelled from his school for throwing a chair at the teacher who disrespected him. But at 15 he was diagnosed with a heart disease and required surgery. His serious illness almost ruined his career but the surgery was successfully done and he recovered completely, however he continued his further training since he believed “Dedication, hard work all the time, and belief.”
Ronaldo’s mother played a significant role in his life. She loved and supported him for playing football and worked very hard andamy jobs to support her family financially. Being poverty stricken at an early age of her marriage, she was pregnant with Ronaldo and went for an abortion.
After being denied for the abortion she tried to kill the baby herself by drinking a lot of alcohol or beer. But the footballer overcame every struggle together with his mother and came into life to become legendary. As the saying goes, ‘don’t let the pain of an imperfect past hinder the glory of your fabulous future. ‘
A friend in need is a friend indeed. Another unknown member in Ronaldo’s life to whom he is indebted and has credited his success to is Albert Fantrau.
Albert Fantrau was admitted in the academy, however he backed out and Ronaldo was taken in. On being asked why he turned down the academy selection, he simply said “you’re better than me” and his words and deeds created history. However true and hearty people do exist and Albert sets an example and highlights them.
Ronaldo is a notable player who faced hardships in his early life and childhood but his dedication and devotion towards his dreams made his dream come true by being a wonderful football player winning the hearts of many children, youth, and aged ones with his utmost sincerity and perseverance.