The deal, worth more than $14 million U.S. dollars, was a record fee for a player of his age. He made such an impression that a number of United players asked their manager to try and sign the young player, which the team soon did. He was introduced to the game of soccer through his dad, who worked as an equipment manager at a boy’s club for a time. Considered a phenom as a teenager, 16-year-old Ronaldo signed with Manchester United in a record deal for a player of his age.
- In May 2025, Ronaldo topped Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes for the fifth time.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is now free to play at his sixth World Cup finals
- While at Sporting and during his first season at Manchester United, he was typically deployed as a traditional winger on the right side of midfield, where he regularly looked to deliver crosses into the penalty area.
- Cristiano Ronaldo will likely avoid missing any Portugal games at the 2026 World Cup despite his red card in a qualifying game for elbowing a Republic of Ireland opponent.
- Cristiano Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer on 12 September 2015 against Espanyol, netting 230 goals in 203 matches, surpassing the previous record holder, Raúl.
In this role, he was also given licence to drop deep or even out wide onto the right flank to receive the ball, and be more involved in the build-up of plays; as such, aside from scoring goals himself, he began to take on opponents and create chances for other players with greater frequency than he had in his final seasons with Real Madrid. On 20 June, Ronaldo made his 200th appearance for his national team, scoring the only goal of an away win over Iceland, in the Euro qualifiers, as he became the first player in the history of men's international football to make 200 appearances for his country. In the following match against Luxembourg on 12 October, also played at the Estádio Algarve, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win for Portugal, thus becoming the first player to score 10 hat-tricks in men's international football. On 9 October, he scored the opening goal in a 3–0 friendly win over Qatar at the Estádio Algarve; with his 181st international appearance, he also overtook Sergio Ramos's record for the most international caps received by a European player. Despite scoring eight goals in qualifications, the second-highest tally, he scored just one goal in the finals, netting the second goal of Portugal's 3–1 win in the group stage game against the Czech Republic. On 27 May 2024, in Al-Nassr's home fixture against Al-Ittihad, Ronaldo scored his 34th and 35th league goals of the campaign, surpassing Abderrazak Hamdallah's record for the most goals scored in a single Saudi Pro League season.
Has any other player had a ban suspended to play at the World Cup?
However, he was held scoreless in a 2-1 loss to Uruguay in the knockout stage, after which he declined to comment on his future with the national team. “This is one of the happiest moments in my career,” Ronaldo commented. “He gave us a lot of confidence and he said, ‘Listen people, I’m sure we will win this Euro, so stay together and fight for it,’” fullback Cedric Soares said after Portugal’s victory. Ronaldo’s teammates said that he motivated them as team captain from the sidelines. A month later, the club announced via the social media site X that Ronaldo had signed a two-year extension. But come May 2025, Ronaldo posted a cryptic social media message suggesting he was looking to sign with another club.
Samedi 21 juin : Fête de la Musique à Mortagne et du Perche dès 15 h
In the semifinal of the same tournament in June 2025, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Germany. In the 2019 UEFA Nations League semifinal against Switzerland, Ronaldo scored three goals to lead Portugal to a 3–1 victory and secure their place in the final, which Portugal won after defeating the Netherlands 1–0. In 2016 Ronaldo helped Portugal win the European Championship, the country’s first major international tournament title, although he only played sparingly in the final because of a knee injury that he had sustained early in the match. Ronaldo came into the 2014 World Cup hot off of his second world player of the year win, but his play at the tournament was spotty, and the entire Portugal team struggled during a group-stage elimination.
On occasion he also played in an attacking partnership alongside Mandžukić in a 4–3–1–2, 4–4–2, or 3–5–2 formation. Off the ball, he was also capable of creating space for teammates with betwarts casino login his movement and attacking runs into the box, or finishing off chances with his head or feet by getting onto the end of his teammates' crosses. At Real Madrid, Ronaldo continued to play a more offensive role, while his creative and defensive duties became more limited, although not entirely diminished. His strength and jumping ability, combined with his elevation, heading accuracy and height of 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in), give him an edge in winning aerial duels.
Then, in 2017, Ronaldo became a father to twins, born on 8 June 2017 in the United States via surrogacy. After her son achieved legendary status in world football, Cristiano Ronaldo's mother, Dolores Aveiro, became a popular personality in Portugal to such an extent that advertising campaigns for well-known brands in the country, such as Maggi, MultiOpticas and Pingo Doce, have featured her in commercials. A documentary film directed by Anthony Wonke about his life and career, titled Ronaldo, was released on 9 November 2015. In December 2011, he launched an iPhone game called Heads Up with Cristiano, created by developer RockLive, and in December 2013, he launched Viva Ronaldo, a dedicated social networking website and app. In June 2010, during the build-up to the World Cup, Ronaldo became the fourth footballer, after Steven Gerrard, Pelé, and David Beckham, to be represented as a waxwork at Madame Tussauds London.
Juventus
According to the BBC, Ronaldo's transfer to Al-Nassr led a "revolution" in Asian football, with many players from other leagues, particularly those in Europe, transferring to Saudi Pro League clubs for the 2023–24 season. Ronaldo ended the season with 29 league goals, winning the Capocannoniere award for highest goalscorer and becoming the first footballer to finish as top scorer in the English, Spanish and Italian leagues. He finished the season with 48 goals, winning a second consecutive Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe for a record fourth time.
International
He has since played for Italian Serie A club Juventus and is currently on the Al-Nassr FC squad in Saudi Arabia. Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed his legendary career is drawing to a close, saying he will likely retire in one to two years. However, he was not part of the starting lineup for several games, and Portugal’s tournament ended with a loss in the quarterfinals. At the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five different World Cups. In November 2022 his contract was terminated by “mutual agreement.” The following month Ronaldo signed with the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Both Ronaldo and Manchester struggled, and he expressed growing dissatisfaction with the club.
In 2002, Mexico midfielder Jesus Arellano was given a three-match ban for violent conduct against Costa Rica. Fifa chose to give the midfielder two games rather than three, and he missed just the first game at the 2018 World Cup. Japan's Makoto Hasebe was sent off for an elbow at the end of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and like Cocu was given two matches. Like Ronaldo, Koscielny was automatically banned for his country's final qualifying fixture. In 2014, France defender Laurent Koscielny was sent off for slapping Ukraine's Oleksandr Kucher in the first leg of the World Cup play-off.
- Growing up, Ronaldo idolised the Brazilian footballers Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, and has described them as leaving «a beautiful history in football».
- As his national team’s captain, Ronaldo led Portugal to the European Championship final against France.
- “He gave us a lot of confidence and he said, ‘Listen people, I’m sure we will win this Euro, so stay together and fight for it,’” fullback Cedric Soares said after Portugal’s victory.
- With his 2008 Ballon d’Or and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldo became United’s first Ballon d’Or winner since Best in 1968, and the first Premier League player to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year.
- He became a star player at United, where he won three consecutive Premier League titles, the Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
- Sports journalists and pundits regularly weigh the individual merits of both players in an attempt to argue who they believe is the best player in modern football or in the history of the game.
- The superstar had been expected to be banned for at least one more game and start what will be his record sixth World Cup on the sidelines.
Madrid's counter-attacking style of play also allowed him to become a more efficient and consistent player, as evidenced by his record-breaking goalscoring feats. On 23 June 2021, Ronaldo scored two goals in the Euro 2020 match against France, breaking the men's goalscoring record previously held by Ali Daei. Ronaldo finished the 2024–25 season with 25 league goals, becoming the league's top scorer for a second consecutive time.
Ronaldo served a mandatory one-game ban when Portugal played its final qualifying game last week — a 9-1 win over Armenia that sealed their place at the World Cup in North America. There are a few cases, and players who are sent off in their last competitive game before the finals will always miss at least one game. Croatia's Mario Mandzukic should have missed the opening two games of the 2014 finals after he was sent off for serious foul play in the second leg of the play-off win over Iceland. He is also the only player ever to score goals at five different World Cups.
On 2 March 2021, he scored a goal in a 3–0 win over Spezia in his 600th league match, to become the first player to score at least 20 goals in 12 consecutive seasons in the top five leagues of Europe. In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern in April, Ronaldo scored both goals in a 2–1 away win which saw him make history by becoming the first player to reach 100 goals in UEFA club competition. He has made over 1,300 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 950 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time. Playing for Portugal on September 5, 2024, Ronaldo became the first men’s player to score 900 career goals across international and club play in a 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Croatia. Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest athletes in the sport’s history, winning the Ballon d’Or five times and becoming the first player to score 900 career goals. Ronaldo is the winner of five Ballon d’Or awards (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017), and in 2024 he became the first men’s player to score 900 career goals in official matches.

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