Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5th February, 1985 in Madeira, Portugal. He joined his local team Nacional when he was 12 and was snapped up by Sporting Lisbon as a teenager.
A prodigiously gifted forward, possessing a bewildering array of dummies, flicks and step-overs, he is comfortable on either wing or up front, and has often been compared to Luis Figo, another ex-Sporting star. He quickly made his name with Sporting Lisbon, before earning a worldwide reputation...
Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5th February, 1985 in Madeira, Portugal. He joined his local team Nacional when he was 12 and was snapped up by Sporting Lisbon as a teenager. A prodigiously gifted forward, possessing a bewildering array of dummies, flicks and step-overs, he is comfortable on either wing or up front, and has often been compared to Luis Figo, another ex-Sporting star.
He quickly made his name with Sporting Lisbon, before earning a worldwide reputation after some sparkling performances for the Portuguese national team. Sir Alex Ferguson called him 'one of the most exciting young players I've ever seen' on signing him in a £12.24 million deal in August 2003.
The first Portuguese player to play for Manchester United, he wasted little time in showing off his sublime skills. He scored his first Premier League goal with a stunning free-kick in the 3-0 win over Portsmouth at Old Trafford in November 2003 - an indication of what was to follow in a spectacular first season. After making 39 appearances and scoring 8 goals – including the opener in United’s FA Cup final victory over Millwall – he was named the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for 2003/04.
He went on to impress in Portugal's run to the Euro 2004 final and continued this fine form when scoring seven goals as they made a strong start in their World Cup 2006 qualifying group. Portugal eventually reached 2006 World Cup semi-finals and Cristiano Ronaldo was named Portugal's Sportsman of the Year by Portuguese newspaper A Bola.
(c) Givemefootball.com official Cristiano Ronaldo profile
