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Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional soccer player who has set records while playing for the Manchester United and Real Madrid clubs, as well as the Portuguese national team. Who Is Cristiano Ronaldo? Born on February 5, 1985, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese soccer superstar. By 2003 — when he was just 16 years old — Manchester paid £12 million (over $14 million U.S. dollars) to sign him, a record fee for a player of his age. In the 2004 FA Cup final, Ronaldo scored Manchester’s first three goals and helped them capture the championship. He set a franchise record for goals scored in 2008, before Real Madrid paid a record $131 million for his services the following year. Among his many accomplishments, he has won a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards for player of the year, and led Portugal to an emotional victory in the 2016 European Championship. In July 2018, Ronaldo embarked on a new phase of his career by signing with Italian Serie A club Juventus. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Salary and Net Worth According to Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo took home $93 million in 2017, $58 million of which was salary and bonus paid by Real Madrid. Ronaldo’s earnings made him the highest-paid soccer player for the fourth year in a row and the highest-paid professional athlete of 2017. According to Celebrity Net Worth, as of 2017 Ronaldo’s net worth is an estimated $400 million. Cristiano Ronaldo is dating the Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez; the couple was first seen together publicly around November 2016. In June 2017, the couple welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, via a surrogate. In November 2017 Rodriguez added to their family with the birth of another girl. Ronaldo’s first child, Cristiano Jr., was born to a former girlfriend in June 2010. Statues In March 2017, self-taught sculptor Emanuel Santos unveiled a bronze bust of Cristiano Ronaldo at the airport in Ronaldo’s hometown of Madeira, Portugal. The statue was ridiculed for its sinister smile and apparent lack of likeness to its subject, though Santos didn’t seem to understand the uproar. “I asked [Ronaldo] what he thought of the result and he said he liked it,” said Santos. “He only asked for some wrinkles that give him a certain expression to his face when he laughs to be changed. He said it made him look older and asked for it to be thinned out a bit to make it smoother and more jovial.” In the wake of the negative publicity, the sports site Bleacher Report commissioned Santos to fashion another sculpture of Ronaldo. This one, unveiled in March 2018, earned praise for more closely resembling the soccer great, though its creator continued to defend his original work. “I liked the result [of the first bust] and was really proud of it,” he told Bleacher Report. “And if I had to do it again, I would make everything exactly the same.” Cristiano Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country. Contract with Manchester United In 2001, when Cristiano Ronaldo was just 16 years old, Manchester United paid more than £12 million to sign him — a record fee for a player of his age. Ronaldo had turned heads with a mesmerizing performance with Portugal against Manchester, wowing even his opponents with his footwork and deft skill. 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. Ronaldo did not disappoint the soccer world. He showed his promise early on in the 2004 FA Cup final, scoring the team’s first three goals and helping them capture the championship. In 2007, Ronaldo signed a five-year, £31 million contract. A year later, Ronaldo again justified his high salary when he put together one of the club’s finest seasons in history, setting a franchise record for goals scored (42), and earning himself the FIFA World Player of the Year honor for 2008. In all, Ronaldo helped steer Manchester United to three premier league titles. Real Madrid In 2009, the Spanish soccer club Real Madrid agreed to pay Manchester United a record $131 million for the chance to sign Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s commitment to Manchester United had come under constant question, and speculation swirled that he wanted to play elsewhere, so nobody was all that surprised to see Ronaldo leave. “I know that they are going to demand a lot of me to be successful at the club and I know that I’m going to have much more pressure than at Manchester United because I was there for many years,” Ronaldo told reporters. “But it means a new challenge and is going to help me be the best footballer.” Ronaldo went on to compile an impressive list of individual honors and team trophies. In December 2016, he won his fourth Ballon d’Or award as the sport’s player of the year, beating out FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Ronaldo’s 2016 wins included the European Championship, Champions League Source : BIOGRAPHY |