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Birth
Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 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. -
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Cristiano Ronaldo's life so far
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Early days
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. -
Going places
In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional. -
A Sporting chance
After playing well for Nacional, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him. He plays for the youth teams from 1997 - 2001. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's U-16, U-17, U-18, B-team, and first team, all within one season. -
Professional debut
After playing well for the youth teams, Cristiano makes the step up to the senior team. Between 2001 - 2003 he makes 25 appearances and scores 3 goals. -
Transfer to Manchester United
After Sporting beat United 3-1 in a pre-season friendly, United's players urge Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Ronaldo. He joins United for £12.24 million. -
Controversy
During a World cup match against England, Ronaldo's United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondo's decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooney's dismissal. The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United. -
European Champions
Ronaldo scores a header and is voted man of the match as United beat Chelsea in Moscow to win the Champions League. This is his best seson at United. He scored 42 goals and won the Golden Boot award for the top goalscorer in Europe. He also wins the Ballon d'Or award, becoming the first United player since George Best in 1968 to do so. -
Signs for Real Madrid
Manchester United accept an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo. He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July. He was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. -
World Cup 2010
Ronaldo has a disappointing World Cup, losing 1-0 to Spain in the second round. The high point of his summer is appearing in this ad with Homer Simpson!
