Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira), better known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a professional Portuguese footballer. He plays for the English club Manchester United F.C. and Portugal. Ronaldo was born in Madeira, Portugal, to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and the late José Dinis Aveiro (1954 – London, 5 September 2005). He has one older brother, Hugo (b. 1975), and two elder sisters, Elma (b. 1974) and Liliana Cátia (b. Madeira, 5 October 1976). Liliana Cátia works as a singer by the stage name “Ronalda” in Portugal. She is married to José Pereira and has a son named Rodrigo. Cristiano second name (“Ronaldo”) is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents named him after former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favorite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo’s reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira’s top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha, and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.
Ronaldo joined Sporting’s other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club’s “football factory,” where he received first-class instruction. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He made his debut for Sporting against Moreirense and scored two goals. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA in more than 17 Championships.
His performances at the UEFA under 17 championships drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gerard Houllier at the age of 16. However, Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some time to develop into a top footballer. However, he came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting beat Manchester United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo demonstrated his ability to play on both wings. After the match, United’s players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.
Now, he is a great fan of millions of people in all over the world and is playing for the club Manchester United. Recently he has been showing poor performances but many people are still expecting a very good performance in the future.