cristiano
by thomas yuen
ronaldo
Upside in his career Downside in his career
1995
2002
2003
Joined Nacional
Senior debut in Sporting CP
Senior debut in National Team
A couple years later, CR7 moved to CD Nacional, one of the most known teams in Madeira, around his 10th bir thday.
by the age of 16, he made his senior debut against Moreirense, in the Por tuguese First Division. In that match, Ronaldo scored a brace and immediatly caught ever yone’s attention upon him.
I T STA RTS IN P ORT U G A L
A RED
P. 6
P. 8
P. 12
P. 16
1993
1997
2003
2004
Joined Andorinha
Joined Sporting CP
Joined Manchester United
Lost in the Euro 2004 Final
Cristiano Ronaldo first step in soccer were made in his amateur hometown club called Andorinha, when he was still 8 years old.
It’s now clear that 1996 was a turnaround year in Cristiano Ronaldo life. By joining Spor ting CP, Ronaldo had to leave his family back in Madeira and star t learning how to live on his own.
Manchester United’s manager Alex Gerguson signed Ronaldo af ter a friendly match with Spor ting CP because all the players in United were stunned by his skills.
Ronaldo managed to help his team reaching the finals, but ended up by being defeated by Greece.
2005
2008
2009
2010
Ronaldo’s father passed away
First UEFA Champions League
Defeated in the UEFA Champions League final
Horribly defeated by FC Barcelona
P. 22
P. 30
Ronaldo won the UEFA Champions League trophy for Manchester United
P. 20
DE V IL LEG E ND
TO T HE G A L ÁCT IC OS P. 18
2006 Breakout
P. 26
P. 36
2008
2009
2011
Won FIFA Player of the year
Joined Real Madrid
The 2008 year was definately Cristiano Ronaldo glor y year at Manchester United and af ter having won the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year and the European Player of the Year.
In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo broke another record by becoming the World’s most expensive football player, af ter transfering from Manchester United to Real Madrid in July 2009, in a £80 million pounds transfer.
Defeated FC Barcelona in Spanish Cup Real Madrid meet Barcelona again in the Spanish Cup final and Ronaldo scored the goal, defeating Barcelona and took the champion.
i t s ta r t s i n p o r t u g a l
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i t s ta r t s i n p o r t u g a l
1985 introduction Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name “Ronaldo” was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His greatgrandmother Isabel da Piedade was from Cape Verde. At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, after winning the campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.
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i t s ta r t s i n p o r t u g a l
1997-2002 a p o r t u g a l s ta r Ronaldo joined Sporting’s other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the club’s football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting’s under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship. At the age of 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 in the hospital, 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, and he resumed training only a few days later.
In November 2002, Ronaldo was invited to Arsenal’s training ground, London Colney to meet manager Arsène Wenger and his coaching staff. But Wenger, who was interested in signing the midfielder had arranged to meet Ronaldo’s representatives, Formation (who suggested the player originally to Gérard Houllier, then Liverpool’s manager) in the subsequent months in order to discuss a transfer arrangement. However he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo’s performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.
“After   we played Sporting the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly, and on the plane back from the game they urged me to sign him.� Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United Manager
a red devil legend
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a red devil legend
2003 new number seven Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million after the 2002–03 season. He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. “After I joined, the manager asked me what number I’d like. I said 28. But Ferguson said ‘No, you’re going to have No. 7,’ and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour.” Cristiano Ronaldo’s adventure in England, started with a memorable debut for Manchester United, coming in as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers and playing for around half an hour. Those 30 minutes are probably still in the memory of many Manchester United fans, since CR7 stunned everyone in the stadium and impressed the traditional harsh English media, with his dazzling dribbles
and runs over the wing. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United, by taking a curled free kick, in a 3-0 win against Portsmouth in November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United’s 3–0 FA Cup final victory over Millwall. He scored United’s 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough.He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005. However, and despite several promising starts, Cristiano Ronaldo’s first two seasons in Manchester United received mixed reviews. He got praised for his technique and skills, but he often got criticised for lacking consistency and poor decision making on the field, which seems to be a natural thing at the age of 17 and 18.
Legardary players in Manchester United
Billy Meredith
Duncan Edwards
Roger Byrne
Sir Bobby Charlton
Denis Law
George Best
Sir Matt Busby
Sir Alex Ferguson
Steve Bruce
Bryan Robson
Eric Cantona
David Beckham
Roy Keane
Ryan Giggs
“Lots of young players have triumphed at United, so why can’t it happen to me? I’m not worried, I’m young, it’s an incentive to do the best I can.”
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a red devil legend
2004 t h e b i g g e s t d e fe at y e t Regarding the Portuguese National Team, Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut against Kazakhstan a few weeks later, just after being signed by Manchester United, in a match played in August 2003. CR7’s first biggest tournament was the Euro 2004, organized by Portugal and Ronaldo managed to help his team reaching the finals, but ended up by being defeated by Greece. Cristiano Ronaldo photos in tears after the match were the Portuguese soul mirror that afternoon and those images got spread all around the World.
Cristiano Ronaldo cried out after the defeat in the Euro 2004 final.
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2006 b r e a ko u t The season 2006-07 proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first premier league title with Manchester United. In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996. He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year. Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour. In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year. He also won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of
the Year, becoming the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year. in the World Cup 2006 played in Germany, Ronaldo was caught up in a very big controversy, after allegedly pressuring and influencing the referee to send off his Manchester United team mate and England’s striker/forward Wayne Rooney, in the quarter finals between England and Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo ended up being used as the scapegoat for England’s defeat in the World Cup and the hatred towards him the following season, could be seen on every stadium the Red Devils had to play. English fans showed CR7 how much they got upset with the World Cup elimination and started insulting and “booing” Cristiano Ronaldo on every match outside Old Trafford. That situation made CR7 think about leaving England and Manchester United. However, Sir Alex Ferguson managed to convince him to stay and, against all odds, Cristiano Ronaldo surprised everyone with a great season in the English Premiership League.
“All the boos and insults just motivate me training harder and playing better.”
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a red devil legend
2008 e u r o pe c h a m pi o n Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table. He scored his twentythird league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season. During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA. One month later, Lyon were fined £2,427 for the incident. On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory. The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best’s forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season. Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldo’s scoring streak
was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca’s Dani Güiza. In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Ronaldo scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Ronaldo was named the UEFA Fans’ Man of the Match, and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling four short of Denis Law’s team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season. In the Champions League he was also named best forward and player of the tournament and was the competition’s top goalscorer. The 2008 year was definitely Cristiano Ronaldo glory year at Manchester United and after winning the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year and the European Player of the Year.
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2009 g o o d by e u n i t e d On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year. Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid’s alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action. Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at United for another year. On 12 January 2009, Ronaldo became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001. Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals. In the second leg against Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. For this goal Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the
first player to win the FIFA Puskás Award, in 2009, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored. Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but this time he made little impact in United’s 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season. After 6 years spent in Manchester United, on 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club. When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, “He’s been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo misses a chance to score past Barcelona’s Gerrard Pique.
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2009 w e lc o m e to b e r n a b é u On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million, and becoming the most expensive footballer in history, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract. Ronaldo’s contract is worth €11 million per year and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause. He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July, where he was handed the number 9 jersey. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona’s record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984. The event was broadcasted live on the Spanish and Portuguese public TV stations.
Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came one week later with a penalty in Madrid’s 4–2 win over LDU Quito. On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real’s second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña. On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real. He broke the club’s record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances consecutively. An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary, kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused
him to miss both of Madrid’s Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid’s 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later. He was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon d’Or award. On 5 May 2010 Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals together during the course of the season and became Real’s highest scoring league duo in their history.
“I’m proud to play for Real Madrid because I have fun; when you no longer have fun it’s a sign that it’s time to leave. For now though, I’m happy here at the greatest club in the world.”
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t wearing No.7 in the first year in Real Madrid. It was wore by Raúl, the captain of Real Madrid at that time.
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2010 a b a d s ta r t With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the No. 7 jersey for Real Madrid. On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against Racing de Santander, the most goals he has ever scored in a single match. This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the most Ronaldo has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrid facing Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid was looking good in the league title. Few days after, Barcelona ripped apart Spanish title rivals Real Madrid to take top spot in La Liga with an emphatic 5-0 home victory in the first “Clasico” of the season.
Real coach Jose Mourinho suffered an embarrassing first defeat since taking over in May as defending champions Barca moved two points clear after 13 games following the Catalan side’s fifth successive win over the capital outfit. The visitors were rocked from the outset as Xavi and Pedro put Pep Guardiola’s team 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, then David Villa scored twice in four second-half minutes to effectively end the game before Jeffren’s late goal just rubbed salt in Real’s wounds. That led to Madrid defender Sergio Ramos being sent off after clattering into Lionel Messi and then shoving Barca captain Carles Puyol to the floor as passions boiled despite the cold, pouring rain.
Cristiano Ronaldo humiliated by Barcelona’s player during the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“The great thing about him is that he will not quit.” George Best Manchester United Legend
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2011 h u g e c o m e b ac k Ronaldo began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, especially after Real Madrid acknowledged he had broken numerous goalscoring records, previously settled and held by classic players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez, and Manuel Alday. Ronaldo began his scoring spree by scoring two vital goals in a tight 3–2 victory away to Getafe. He then consolidated his massive performances by scoring a hat-trick and assisting Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, in a 4–2 victory over Villarreal on 9 January. One game away from the middle of the season, Ronaldo had a very clear chance of breaking Telmo Zarra’s and Hugo Sánchez’s record of 38 League goals in a single season, since he was the league’s top scorer with 22 goals, above Lionel Messi. However, shortly after, Ronaldo experienced the biggest goal drought in his entire career, scoring only 2 goals in more than a month. During this period, Real Madrid acknowledged to have hit the crossbar more than 12 times in the season, most of the shots belonging to
Ronaldo and almost all having happened during crucial moments in drawn matches. Ronaldo then made a massive comeback by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 trashing of Málaga on 3 March 2011, but was affected by a muscle injury at the end of the match, which forced him to spend 10 days on the sidelines. In April, Ronaldo made another massive comeback from injury, sustaining a three-game scoring streak, thus arriving to the first of a historical series of four El Clásico encounters two goals short of breaking his personal record of 42 goals in all competitions in a single season, which was achieved at Manchester United in the 2007–08 season. During the second league edition of El Clásico, Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot and took his tally to 41 goals, also taking his scoring streak to four games. On 20 April, Ronaldo scored the winning goal against Barcelona in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final.
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h a r d r i va l ry When Barcelona meet Real Madrid the biggest subplot is the battle of Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo.Ronaldo is the world’s most expensive player, Real having signed him for $131 in the summer of 2009. Prior to that he had been signed by Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon as an 18-year-old. They are two of the highest paid soccer players in the world game.Messi has a release clause of $400 million and his rise to the top could not contrast more starkly to that of Ronaldo. The Argentinean left Newell’s Old Boys for Barcelona at the age of 13, with the club paying for treatment on a growth hormone deficiency that threatened to stunt his progress. In 2012 he became the club’s record goalscorer at the age of just 24. Each player has won the World Player of the Year award, and has scored in a Champions League final. Everytime Real Madrid is going to fight against Barcelona, people will not only make comparison to both clubs, but also a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.
“ You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it’s a different engine. You cannot compare them. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid, so everyone says.”
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revenge The 2011 Copa del Rey final was the 107th final since its establishment. The match was a traditional ‘El Clásico’ rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid which took place on 20 April 2011 at the Estadio Mestalla, making it the sixth such Copa del Rey final, just four days after the two teams played each other in La Liga and seven days before they played each other in the UEFA Champions League first leg semi-final. Real Madrid lifted the trophy for the eighteenth time in their history with a 1–0 victory after extra time. The match was scoreless after 90 minutes but there had been numerous scoring chances on both sides. Cristiano Ronaldo was credited with having three good chances in the first half, the last of which was kept out with a onehanded save by Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto. Barcelona did not have a shot on target in the first half but in the second they dominated possession and Iniesta and Pedro both forced saves by Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Casillas.
The game was won in the first period of extra time by the game’s only goal, a header from Cristiano Ronaldo from a cross from teammate di María. This goal would later be chosen as both Ronaldo’s and Real Madrid’s best goal in the season by several fan polls, including those of Marca and Real Madrid’s website. 7th May saw Real travel to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to take on Sevilla, where Ronaldo led the thrashing of a woeful Andalusian side, scoring four goals in a 6–2 victory. These four goals took him to 46 for the season which surpassed his previous record of 42 in a season playing for Manchester United. Three days later he reached 49 goals for the season, by scoring another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win against Getafe. On 15 May, after scoring two free-kick goals in a 3–1 win over Villarreal, he equalled the La Liga record with most goals in a season with 38 goals, a record which previously held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez.
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On 21 May, he scored two goals in the last league match of the season against AlmerĂa, taking his Pichichi total to 41, and La Liga total to 40, becoming the only player to score 40 goals in a La Liga season. By doing this, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different leagues. The sports newspaper Marca, who awards the Pichichi Trophy, included the goal scored on 18 September 2010 against Real Sociedad in Ronaldo's goal count, which had been officially attributed to Pepe.Should this goal be granted to Ronaldo, his goal count in the Pichichi Trophy would tally 41 goals. Ronaldo also broke Zarra's record of most goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. However, regardless of this goal polemic, Ronaldo's record-breaking figures became a source of major attention from public media, such as being included in the Sports Illustrated World XI, rating him as one of the world's best footballers.
“To me, being the best means proving it in different countries and championships.”