Written by Riyaan Kaul, a grade 5 student.

Did you know that Cristiano Ronaldo was made fun of by his classmates and his teacher? Read his incredible story…

Christiano Ronaldo can outrun and outplay any footballer a decade younger than him. 780 goals, and five-time FIFA player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro is literally the best player football has ever seen, but his success was achieved with a lot of hard work and determination. 

A footballer in the making

Cristiano’s dad was a gardener and his mom was a cook in Madeira, Portugal. He has three siblings – a brother, and two sisters. As a kid, Christiano joined soccer training where he was made fun of not only by his classmates but even by his teacher. One day,  out of rage Ronaldo picked up a chair and threw it at his teacher. He was expelled.  But his talent was spotted early enough and he began playing for  Andorinha from the age of 8. He joined Nacional in 1995. Soon after, he joined Sporting CP after a three-day trial.

By the time he was 14 years old, he decided to drop school and focus on football. His mother supported his decision. At 15, Christiano underwent heart surgery and was back on the field after only a few weeks’ rest.

His soccer career

Ronaldo started his career at Sporting CP in Portugal, where he started out in the junior teams but quickly got promoted to the first team. His exploits for Sporting CP brought him into prominence with some of the biggest clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United. His performance in a win against Manchester United convinced Sir Alex Ferguson to do everything possible to sign him. Ronaldo became the most expensive teenager in English football history. He spent 6 years at Manchester United and became their most important player as he led them to 3 league titles and 1 Champions League victory.

A dream come true

In 2009,  Ronaldo achieved his boyhood dream of playing for the Spanish club Real Madrid, as he became the most expensive football player in the world. His welcome presentation too broke records with a crowd of 80,000 fans turning up at the Bernabeu Stadium. Ronaldo played some of the best football in his career at Real Madrid and established himself as one of the best players in history. He won many trophies both for himself and for the team. This includes 4 FIFA Ballon d’Or (for the best player of the year) and a historic treble of Champions League victories. In the League seasons in 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player to reach the 200 goal milestone in the Spanish League. He reached it in 178 games.

After great success with Real Madrid, Ronaldo wanted a new challenge and transferred to the Italian club Juventus for a fee of more than 100 Million Euros, the highest for a player over the age of 30. Ronaldo has won multiple trophies at Juventus and is one of their best players despite his age. Ronaldo helped Portugal National team win the European championship in 2016 and is also Portugal’s all-time top scorer.  He has scored 50 goals for Portugal in his career.  Recently, Ronaldo scored  2 goals against Hungary to become the all-time top scorer in the European Championship. 

Mr. Popular

Ronaldo is not only a great sportsman but he is also very popular. In February 2021, Ronaldo became the first person in the world to have more than 500 million followers on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.  He is the richest football player and owns the most expensive car. Christiano Ronaldo is one of the fittest athletes. He believes junk foods are not good for health. Recently, at a press conference, he moved two bottles of coke aside and put forward a bottle of water.

When, as a kid, Christiano Ronaldo began playing football, friends laughed at him. But he never gave up. Every year he got better and better at his favourite game. Today, the world salutes him as the Greatest of All Times.

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