Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains the Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in history, and his individual achievements include five Ballon d'Or awards. In recognition of his record-breaking goalscoring, Ronaldo received the special awards Outstanding Career Achievement from FIFA in 2021 and Champions League All-Time Top Scorer from UEFA in 2024.

Ronaldo was a member of Sporting CP's youth academy and joined the first team in 2002. Manchester United signed him for £12 million in 2003, an England record for a teenager. After evolving into a world class attacker, Ronaldo transferred to Real Madrid in 2009 for £80 million, the most expensive transfer in history at the time. He spent nine seasons with Madrid, winning four Champions League titles and becoming the club's top goalscorer with 450 goals. Tensions with the Real Madrid hierarchy resulted in Ronaldo joining Juventus in 2018 for €100 million, where he went on to win all the major honours in Italian football. He returned to Manchester United in 2021, before signing with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in 2023, reportedly receiving the highest football salary in history. His transfer helped the Saudi Pro League attract other high-profile players.

Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18. He has earned more than 200 caps, making him history's most-capped male player. He has played in six FIFA World Cups, five UEFA European Championships, and two UEFA Nations Leagues. With 146 international goals, he is the all-time top male goalscorer. He assumed captaincy of Portugal in 2008, and in 2015 was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation. He led Portugal to their first major title with a victory at UEFA Euro 2016, and also led them to victory in the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019, where he received the top scorer award in the finals. At Euro 2020 he received the Golden Boot, and in 2024 he became the player with the most international victories in men's football.

Youth career Andorinha and Nacional

From 1992 to 1995, Ronaldo played for Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. He later spent two years with Nacional, where he was named captain. In 1997, at age 12, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP. The club subsequently signed him for £1,500, and he moved from Madeira to Lisbon to join their youth system.

Club career Sporting CP

At age 16, Ronaldo was promoted from Sporting's youth team by first team manager László Bölöni, who was impressed with his dribbling. He subsequently became the first player to play for the club's under-16, under-17 and under-18 teams, the B team, and the first team, all within a single season. On 14 August 2002, the 17-year-old Ronaldo played his first official match for the first team, in a UEFA Champions League qualifying round against Inter Milan. He came on in the 58th minute.

In September, Ronaldo made his debut in the Primeira Liga against Braga, and in October, he scored two goals against Moreirense in Sporting's 3–0 win. The same month, Juventus executive Luciano Moggi prepared a €2.5 million offer for Ronaldo, which included Marcelo Salas in exchange. After Salas refused to accept the transfer, the talks collapsed. During the 2002–03 season, Ronaldo's representatives mentioned him to Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger met with Ronaldo in November to discuss a possible transfer. The French teams Auxerre and Lyon were also interested in signing him.

After Sporting defeated Manchester United 3–1 in August 2003, United manager Alex Ferguson was determined to acquire Ronaldo. He offered Sporting £12.24 million for Ronaldo, who he considered to be "one of the most exciting young players" he had ever seen.

Manchester United

2003–2007: Development and breakthrough Ronaldo's move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA Community Shield match but in time for United's game against the Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003–04 season. He was 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 the United players George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham. Wearing the number 7 became a source of motivation for Ronaldo. He would later describe Ferguson as his "father in sport" and "one of the most important and influential factors" in his career.

Ronaldo made his debut as a substitute in a 4–0 win over Bolton in the Premier League on 16 August 2003, and received a standing ovation when he came on for Nicky Butt. His performance earned praise from Best, who hailed it as "undoubtedly the most exciting debut" he had ever seen. Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free-kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November. Three more league goals followed in the second half of the season. On the final day of the campaign, Ronaldo received the first red card of his career while playing against Aston Villa. Ronaldo ended his first season in England by scoring a goal in United's 3–0 win over Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup Final, which earned him his first trophy. BBC pundit Alan Hansen described him as the star of the final.

Ronaldo scored United's 1,000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2004, their only goal in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. A few weeks later, he signed a new contract with the club that extended his previous deal by two years to 2010. At the start of 2005, Ronaldo contributed a goal and an assist against Aston Villa and scored twice against rivals Arsenal. Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football, the Football League Cup, after scoring the third goal in United's 4–0 final win over Wigan Athletic.

During his third season in England, Ronaldo was involved in several incidents. He was given a one-match ban by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans, and was sent off during United's 3–1 defeat in the Manchester derby for kicking Andy Cole of Manchester City. He clashed with his teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took offence at Ronaldo's showboating style of play. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo was involved in an incident which resulted in his club teammate Wayne Rooney being sent off. Afterwards, Ronaldo publicly asked for a transfer, saying that United had not supported him during the incident. United denied his request.

Although his World Cup altercation with Rooney resulted in Ronaldo being booed throughout the 2006–07 season, it proved to be his break-out year, as he scored 20 league goals for the first time and won his first Premier League title. An important factor in this success was his one-to-one training by first-team coach René Meulensteen, who taught him to make himself more unpredictable, improve his teamwork, call for the ball and capitalise on goalscoring opportunities rather than waiting for the chance to score aesthetically pleasing goals. Ronaldo had three consecutive two-goal games at the end of December. He was named the Premier League Player of the Month in November and December.

2007–2008: Collective and individual success

At the quarter-final stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo scored his first goals in the competition, scoring twice in a 7–1 win over Roma. He also scored once in the first semi-final leg against Milan, which ended in a 3–2 win. He scored the only goal in the Manchester derby on 5 May—his 50th goal for the club—as United won their first league title in four years. That season, he won the Player's Player, Fans' Player and Young Player of the Year awards from the Professional Footballers' Association, as well as the Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers' Association. His wages were raised to £120,000 a week as part of a five-year contract extension. Ronaldo was runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, and he came in third in voting for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo scored his first hat-trick for United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United on 12 January 2008, which put United at the top of the league table. On 19 March, he captained United for the first time, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over Bolton. His second goal was his 33rd goal of the season across all competitions, surpassing George Best's total of 32 goals during the 1967–68 season, and setting a new single-season record for a United midfielder. Ronaldo's 31 league goals earned him the Premier League Golden Boot, and he became the first winger to win the European Golden Shoe. He also received the PFA Players' Player of the Year award and the FWA Footballer of the Year award for the second consecutive season.

In the knockout stage of the 2008 UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo scored the decisive goal against Lyon to help United advance to the quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate; while playing as a striker, he scored in the 3–0 aggregate win over Roma. United defeated Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the final, with Ronaldo scoring once. As the Champions League top scorer, Ronaldo was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

Ronaldo scored a total of 42 goals in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, his most prolific campaign during his time in England. He missed three matches after headbutting a Portsmouth player; he said the experience taught him not to let opponents provoke him. As rumours circulated of Ronaldo's interest in moving to Real Madrid, United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA over Madrid's alleged pursuit of him, but FIFA declined to take action. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said a player should be allowed to leave their club, describing the situation as "modern slavery". Ronaldo publicly agreed with Blatter, but remained at United for another year.

2008–2009: Ballon d'Or and continued success

Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery on 7 July, which kept him out of action for 10 weeks. Following his return, he scored his 100th goal for United during a 5–0 win against Stoke City on 15 November, which meant he had now scored against all 19 opposing teams in the Premier League. At the close of 2008, Ronaldo helped United win the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, assisting the final-winning goal against Liga de Quito and winning the Silver Ball in the process. Ronaldo won the 2008 Ballon d'Or and the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year award, becoming United's first Ballon d'Or winner since George Best in 1968. Ronaldo's match-winning goal from 40 yards during the 2009 UEFA Champion's League quarter-finals against Porto earned him the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award, which recognizes the best goal of the year. United claimed their third consecutive league title in 2009 and won the Football League Cup; Ronaldo finished his time in England with a total of nine trophies.

Real Madrid

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £80 million (€94 million), a world record at the time. His contract, which ran until 2015, was worth €11 million per year and contained a €1 billion buy-out clause. At least 80,000 fans attended his unveiling at the Santiago Bernabéu. Since club captain Raúl wore number 7—the number Ronaldo wore at United—Ronaldo wore number 9 during his first season with Madrid.

2009–2013: La Liga title and goalscoring record