Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

born 5 February 1985

commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a dPortuguese footballer who plays

Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team

His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid football player in the worl

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

• Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for £12.24 million after the 2002–03 season.

• He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham.

• He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

• On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.

• In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks.

• On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

• On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.

• It is believed that Ronaldo's contract is worth €13 million per season and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.

• He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July, where he was handed the number 9 jersey.

• Ronaldo was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.