Cristiano Ronaldo

 

Cristiano Ronaldo

Early life

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, and grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António. He is the fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener and part-time kit man. His great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia "Katia". He was named after actor and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, whom his father was a fan of. His mother revealed that she wanted to abort him due to poverty, his father's alcoholism, and having too many children already, but her doctor refused to perform the procedure, as abortions were illegal in Portugal at that time.Ronaldo grew up in an impoverished Roman Catholic home, sharing a room with all his siblings.

As a child, Ronaldo played for Andorinha from 1992 to 1995,where his father was the kit man, and later spent two years with Nacional. In 1997, aged 12, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who signed him for a fee of £1,500. He subsequently moved from Madeira to Alcochete near Lisbon, to join Sporting youth academy. By age 14, Ronaldo believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally and agreed with his mother to cease his education to focus entirely on football. With a troubled life as a student and living in Lisbon area away from his Madeiran family, he did not complete schooling beyond the 6th grade. While popular with other students at school, he had been expelled after throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him. One year later, he was diagnosed with tachycardia, a condition that could have forced him to give up playing football. Ronaldo underwent heart surgery where a laser was used to cauterise multiple cardiac pathways into one, altering his resting heat rate. He was discharged from the hospital hours after the procedure and resumed training a few days later.

Manchester United

2003–2007: Development and breakthrough

"There have been a few players described as 'the new George Best' over

Ronaldo's move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA comunity shied but in time for their game against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003-04 seson and made him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club. His transfer fee made him, at the time, the most expensive teenager in English football history. Although he requested the number 28, his number at Sporting, he received the squad number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by such United players as George  best Eric cantona and David Beckham Wearing the number 7 became an extra source of motivation for Ronaldo. A key element in his development during his time in England proved to be Ferguson, of whom he later said: "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important and influential factors in my career

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