Renowned soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo the Portuguese professional footballer who plays for the Italian side Juventus celebrates his birthday today as he turns 35.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born and raised in Madeira, Portugal where he began his career playing for Sporting CP before signing with Manchester United in 2003, aged 18.
After winning the FA Cup in his first season, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup; at age 23, he won his first Ballon d’Or. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the then-most expensive association football transfer when signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).
He was considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and as won over five Ballons d’Or and four European Golden Shoes, both of which are records for a European player and also won 29 trophies in his career, including six league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA European Championship, and one UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo (popularly referred to as the G.O.A.T. by many of his fans) is a prolific goalscorer, who holds the records for the most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League (128) and the joint-most goals scored in the UEFA European Championship (9). He has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country.
After joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or three times, behind Lionel Messi his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d’Or from 2013–2014 and again from 2016–2017.
When he won a third consecutive Champions League title in 2018, Ronaldo became the first player to win the trophy five times. In 2018, he signed for Juventus in a transfer worth an initial €100 million (£88 million), the highest ever paid by an Italian club and the highest ever paid for a player over 30 years old. With the Italian outfit, he has won one Serie A and one Supercoppa Italiana.
