[b]Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro[/b], ( born 5 February 1985)[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-AtFeet-0][/url][/sup] is a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal]Portuguese[/url] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football]footballer[/url] who plays as a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midfielder#Winger]winger[/url] for Spanish club [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Madrid_C.F.]Real Madrid[/url] and serves as captain of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal_national_football_team]Portuguese national team[/url]. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after having transferred to [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Madrid_C.F.]Real Madrid[/url] in a deal worth £80 million ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro]€[/url]94m, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar]US$[/url]132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid player in the world.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-1][/url][/sup]
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.D._Nacional]CD Nacional[/url] and his successes with the team led to a move to [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_Clube_de_Portugal]Sporting Clube de Portugal[/url] two seasons afterwards. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United]Manchester United[/url] manager [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ferguson]Alex Ferguson[/url] and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA_Cup]FA Cup[/url], and reached the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2004]UEFA Euro 2004[/url] final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.
In 2008, Ronaldo won his first [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Champions_League]UEFA Champions League[/url] title, and was named [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Club_Footballer_of_the_Year]player of the tournament[/url]. He was named the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFPro]FIFPro[/url] World Player of the Year[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-2][/url][/sup] and the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year]FIFA World Player of the Year[/url], in addition to becoming Manchester United's first [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballon_d%27Or]Ballon d'Or[/url] winner in 40 years.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-3][/url][/sup]
Three-time Ballon d'Or winner [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Cruyff]Johan Cruyff[/url] said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Best]George Best[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Law]Denis Law[/url], who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-4][/url][/sup][b]Early life[/b]
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funchal]Funchal[/url], [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira]Madeira[/url], the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. His second [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_name]given name[/url], "Ronaldo," was chosen after then-[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States]U.S. president[/url] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan]Ronald Reagan[/url], who was his father's favourite actor.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-5][/url][/sup] He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.[b]Early career[/b]
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.F._Andorinha]Andorinha[/url], where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.D._Nacional]CD Nacional[/url], and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_Clube_de_Portugal]Sporting CP[/url], who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-about.com-6][/url][/sup]
[b]Sporting CP[/b]
Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the [i]Alcochete[/i],
the club's football academy. He became the only player ever to play for
Sporting's B-team, and first team, all within one
season.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-titans-7][/url][/sup] He scored two goals in his Sporting debut against [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreirense_F.C.]Moreirense[/url], while featuring for Portugal in the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Under_17_Championships]UEFA Under 17 Championships[/url].[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-u17-8][/url][/sup]
When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a
condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The
Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother
gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had
an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his
heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the
morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the
afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-9][/url][/sup]
He was first spotted by then-[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C.]Liverpool[/url] manager [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Houllier]Gérard Houllier[/url] at 16, but Liverpool declined to take him on because they decided he was too young and needed some time to develop his skills.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-cr101-10][/url][/sup] However, he came to the attention of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.]Manchester United[/url] manager [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ferguson]Alex Ferguson[/url] in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est%C3%A1dio_Jos%C3%A9_Alvalade]Estádio José Alvalade[/url] in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon]Lisbon[/url]. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.
written by B.Zakhour[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#cite_note-crwc-11][/url]
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