One of the most well-known and adored football players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo has accomplished a great deal throughout the course of his remarkable career. For nearly 20 years, the Manchester United forward—who also serves as Portugal’s captain and top scorer—has been shattering records and raising the bar in the sport. Here are fifteen interesting facts about the football legend, who is 39 today

Ronald Reagan influenced the origin of his name.

Ronald Reagan, a former US president, was the actor that his father admired, therefore Cristiano Ronaldo got his full name, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. José Dinis Aveiro, the father of Ronaldo, was a municipal gardener and part-time kit man for a nearby team. Because to problems with alcohol, he passed dead in 2005.

dismissed from 14-year-old school

At the age of 14, Cristiano Ronaldo was dismissed from school for throwing a chair at his teacher, who had accused him of being disrespectful. Cristiano Ronaldo was not a particularly motivated student. Following this incident, he joined Sporting Lisbon’s youth academy to further his football career.

heart surgery when just 15 years old

Cristiano Ronaldo had heart surgery when he was fifteen years old in order to fix an abnormal heartbeat that might have destroyed his football career. After a successful laser procedure to repair the damaged cardiac tissue, he recovered completely in a matter of days.

At the age of 18, Manchester United scouted him.

When Cristiano Ronaldo played for Sporting Lisbon against Manchester United in a friendly match in 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, became interested in the player. At the time, Ferguson made him the most expensive young player in English football history when he signed him for a cost of £12.24 million.

wore a shirt with the number 7 at United

At first, Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to wear the number 28 shirt he wore while playing for Sporting Lisbon, but Ferguson convinced him to wear the famous number 7, which has been worn by David Beckham, Eric Cantona, George Best, and other superstars.Cristiano Ronaldo took up the challenge, putting his personal stamp on the number 7.

won his first Ballon d’Or when he was twenty-three.

Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 after leading Manchester United to victories in both the Premier League and the Champions League in 2007–08 and amassing 42 goals across all competitions. After George Best in 1968, he became the first player from United to win the prize.

became the most expensive player in the world at 24

Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a record-breaking £80 million, more than twice as much as Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001 (£37.5 million). Ronaldo played with Real Madrid for nine seasons, scoring 450 goals in 438 games to become the team’s all-time top scorer.

scored fifty goals or more in six straight seasons.

For Real Madrid, Ronaldo accomplished the amazing accomplishment of scoring 50 goals or more in six straight seasons from the 2010–11 season until the 2015–16 season. With over 60 goals in three of those seasons, he is the only player in history to achieve this.

played for Real Madrid and won four Champions League titles.

With Real Madrid, Ronaldo raised the Champions League trophy in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Only he has won five titles in the modern era, and he did so with Manchester United in 2008. With 134 goals, he is the competition’s all-time top scorer.

   Most popular user on Instagram

With more over 375 million followers as of February 2024, Ronaldo holds the record for most Instagram followers. In addition, he is the most followed athlete on Facebook and Twitter, with over 150 million and 100 million followers, respectively.

Has a museum devoted to him

The CR7 Museum honors Ronaldo with a special space in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. His medals, trophies, shirts, boots, and other mementos are on display at the museum. In addition, a 2014 unveiling of a bronze statue of Ronaldo is present.

father of four kids

Ronaldo is the father of four children: Alana Martina, born in 2017 to his fiancée Georgina Rodriguez; Cristiano Junior, born in 2010; and the twins Eva and Mateo, born in 2017 through surrogacy. Cristiano Junior’s mother’s identity has not been made public.

A humanitarian and philanthropist

Ronaldo is well-known for his charitable and humanitarian endeavors in addition to his sporting and business endeavors. Millions of pounds have been contributed by him to a variety of organizations and causes, including the fight against natural disasters, AIDS, cancer, hunger, poverty, and hunger. DoSomething.org named him the world’s most philanthropic athlete in 2015.

lifetime agreement with Nike

Ronaldo reportedly agreed to a lifetime deal with Nike in 2016 that was worth around £760 million. He becomes one of just three athletes—the other two being Michael Jordan and LeBron James—to hold lifetime contracts with major sportswear companies. Ronaldo also has endorsement agreements with CR7, Herbalife, TAG Heuer, and Armani.

Portugal’s captain and leading scorer

Ronaldo is the captain and all-time top scorer for the Portuguese national team, having scored 111 goals in 180 games. Portugal won the UEFA Nations League in 2019 and the Euro 2016 championship under his captaincy. The only player to score in four separate World Cups and four separate European Championships is Ronaldo.”