GoTrivia: Cristiano Ronaldo - Behind The Curtain
There is no football debate about the greatest players of all time without mentioning the name of Portugese star Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
Ronaldo’s story is a tale of hardships, perseverance and the power of self-confidence needed to shine as an athlete and as a celebrity who is always under the public radar irrespective of his performance.
Ronaldo was born in a working-class neighbourhood on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country. Ronaldo is the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and José Dinis Aveiro. He was named after Hollywood actor and 40th US President Ronald Reagan, one of his father's favourite actors. His early life was shaped by hardships, as his father was an alcoholic. To help keep the children fed and maintain some financial stability, Ronaldo's mother worked as a cook and cleaning person. In 2001, when Ronaldo was just 16 years old, Manchester United paid more than £12 million to sign him from Lisbon based football club, Sporting CP — a record fee for a player of his age. He became one of the key players in the start-studded Manchester United team where he won the prestigious Champion League trophy for the first time in 2008. He joined the Spanish giants, Real Madrid in 2009 for a record $131 million which kickstarted the greatest sports rivalries of our times, Ronaldo Vs Messi. After winning four Champions League crowns, three club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups , two LaLiga titles, a pair of Copa Del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups, Ronaldo decided to leave Los Blancos in 2018 for Italian side — Juventus aka The Black Lady. In 2017, he was declared world’s highest-paid athletes by Forbes with a net worth of $93 million. "I'm living a dream I never want to wake up from." This quote by Cristiano Ronaldo explains how the legendary soccer star has become a favourite both on and off the field. Here are some lesser-known facts about one of the greatest footballers of all time -
Ronaldo was born in a working-class neighbourhood on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country. Ronaldo is the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and José Dinis Aveiro. He was named after Hollywood actor and 40th US President Ronald Reagan, one of his father's favourite actors. His early life was shaped by hardships, as his father was an alcoholic. To help keep the children fed and maintain some financial stability, Ronaldo's mother worked as a cook and cleaning person. In 2001, when Ronaldo was just 16 years old, Manchester United paid more than £12 million to sign him from Lisbon based football club, Sporting CP — a record fee for a player of his age. He became one of the key players in the start-studded Manchester United team where he won the prestigious Champion League trophy for the first time in 2008. He joined the Spanish giants, Real Madrid in 2009 for a record $131 million which kickstarted the greatest sports rivalries of our times, Ronaldo Vs Messi. After winning four Champions League crowns, three club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups , two LaLiga titles, a pair of Copa Del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups, Ronaldo decided to leave Los Blancos in 2018 for Italian side — Juventus aka The Black Lady. In 2017, he was declared world’s highest-paid athletes by Forbes with a net worth of $93 million. "I'm living a dream I never want to wake up from." This quote by Cristiano Ronaldo explains how the legendary soccer star has become a favourite both on and off the field. Here are some lesser-known facts about one of the greatest footballers of all time -
- At the age of 15, he was diagnosed with a medical condition referred to as the 'racing heart' which could have ended his dream of playing his favourite sport but a successful surgery ensured that his dreams won’t be shattered.
- In Manchester United, he was given the coveted No 7 shirt by coach Sir Alex Ferguson which was earlier worn by David Beckham and Eric Cantona.
- The 5-time Ballon d'Or winner is quite literally a force to reckon with. A team of sports scientists analysed some of his attributes and found he has 3% less body fat than a supermodel, thigh circumference of 61.7cm. He can run 25m in 3.61 seconds – just 0.3 seconds slower than a professional sprinter. Ronaldo has the ability to climb really high in the air. With the muscles in his legs that are so well developed and maintained - Ronaldo jumped 78 cm, higher than an average NBA player (71 cm). The force he uses to push off is almost 5g – similar to what an astronaut experiences during take-off.
- Unlike his contemporaries, Ronaldo doesn’t have a single tattoo on his body. The reason being that the soccer star is a devout blood donor. And, as a guideline from the Red Cross, those who get a tattoo cannot donate blood for at least four months.
- After winning the European Championship in 2016 with Portugal, an international airport on his home island Santa Catarina was renamed to Cristiano Ronaldo Airport.
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