Cristiano Ronaldo is widely considered as one of the greatest footballers to have ever graced the game.


The Manchester United and Portugal attacker was born 37 years ago to José Dinis Aveiro and Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro on February 5, 1985 in Funchal, Madeira in Portugal.

Let us take a look at 37 amazing ‘factos’ about Cristiano Ronaldo on his special day

The star footballer was born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro in 1985 in Madeira Portugal. His father Jose Dinis Aveiro added Ronaldo to his name as he was a fan of the 40th US president Ronald Reagan.

Portuguese giants Sporting CP played a crucial role in shaping the career of Ronaldo as he made his professional debut for the club. But did you Ronaldo would not have got picked by Sporting scouts had his friend not assisted him to score a goal while Nacional’s youth team?

In the book, Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography, written by Guillem Balague, the player was quoted saying, “I have to thank my old friend Albert Fantrau for my success. We played together for the same youth team. When scouts from Sporting came to see us in a game, they said that whoever scored the most goals would earn a scholarship at their academy.

"We won that match 3-0. I scored the first goal, then Albert scored the second with a great header. But it was the third goal that astonished everyone. Albert was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, I was running alongside him, and he passed to me so that I could score. In the end, I was accepted into the academy. After the match, I went to him and asked him why he had done what he did. Albert replied, ‘Because you are better than me’."

Cristiano Ronaldo does not have a single tattoo on his body as he is an avid blood and bone marrow donor. While having or getting a tattoo does not strictly prohibit one from donating blood or bone marrow, restrictions are advised and observed by blood donation facilitators.

The Red Cross advises that individuals should wait 12 months before giving blood if they have just had a tattoo applied in a state where tattoo studios are not regulated. Blood donation organisations in the United Kingdom generally advise potential donors to wait at least four months after getting a tattoo or piercing before giving blood. The former Real Madrid star often uses his social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, to promote the cause of donating blood.

Cristiano’s father José Dinis Aveiro served the Portuguese Army and fought two wars in Angola and Mozambique. It was the war in Angola in 1975 that changed Jose Dinis’ life. After the lost war, he came back to Portugal as a broken man both mentally and financially. Back home, the country was drained out economically due to the multiple wars they fought. There were no jobs across the country and Jose Dinis remained unemployed for a long time. It was at that time that alcoholism gripped the man which eventually led to his death at the age of 51 in 2005 due to Liver Failure.

Ronaldo’s father never got to see his son becoming one of the greatest footballers in the world and that is a regret the player still has. In an interview with ITV in 2019, he had mentioned, “I really don’t know my father 100 per cent. He was alcoholic. I never spoke with him, like a normal conversation. It was hard. To be the number one and he don’t see nothing, and he don’t see me receive awards, to see what I became.”

After retirement from the army, Jose Dinis Aveiro took up gardening as a profession and then became a kitman in a local club in Funchal named Andorinha. Incidentally, Ronaldo’s first-ever club was also Andorinha. In fact, Jose got the job because Ronaldo played there

Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo is also a subject of study at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada. Sociology students at the university have the option to study the life and career of the superstar as a course subject.

A museum named Museu CR7 was built at his birthplace - Funchal in Madeira - in 2013. It exhibits photographs and videos of the player's career and waxworks of Ronaldo with a pictorial background. It also has all the youth and professional trophies of the player at the clubs - CF Andorinha, Nacional da Madeira, Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus FC and the Portugal national team. A hotel is built above the museum which is owned by Ronaldo and Pestana Group.

The Manchester United star was diagnosed with Tachycardia which meant his heart would beat irregularly and at a very fast pace at the age of 15. With such a heart condition, there were doubts whether he would be able to continue as a football player but after a successful surgery, he recovered fully. Thank god for that or else we would now live in a world without Ronaldo the superstar.

Cristiano Ronaldo was hotheaded as a child and he was expelled from his school at the age of 14 after he threw a chair at one of his teachers for allegedly disrespecting him.

Starting from 2002, when he made his professional debut for Sporting CP, Cristiano Ronaldo has played under 17 different managers. Fernando Santos (Sporting CP), Sir Alex Ferguson, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick (Manchester United), Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez, Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Massimiliano Allegri, Maurizio Sarri, Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento and Fernando Santos (Portugal).

Everyone is aware of Cristiano Ronaldo and strict diets and how he loves to eat healthy food which keeps going strong as a player at the age of 37. But when he is not on diet, he loves eating a Portuguese dish named Bacalhau à Brás which is made from shreds of salted cod (Bacalhau), onions and fried potatoes, all bound with scrambled eggs.

In 2018, famous Canadian musician Drake released a music album named Scorpion. In that album, a song named Blue Tint has mentioned the star player. One of the lines of the song goes, “Way this shit set up I live like Ronaldo, but I never been in Madrid.”

Back in 2003, Arsenal and Liverpool along with Manchester United were interested in signing the up and coming talent from Sporting Lisbon. Then Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier later admitted that the Reds had shown interest in getting Ronaldo from Sporting but his wage demands were too high for the club. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Houllier had said, “I saw him (Ronaldo) in the Toulon U21 tournament and we went for him, but we had a wage scale and we weren't paying the sort of salary he wanted.”

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger too was interested in roping in the Portuguese but Manchester United beat them in the race. In an interview with ITV in 2019, Ronaldo said, “It's true. Very close. One stop, incredible. Seriously. It didn't happen but, Arsenal, I appreciate what they did for me. Especially Arsene Wenger - but you know football and in football, you never know."

Ronaldo’s mother Maria Dolores Aveiro once revealed in an interview that his son got the nicknames ‘cry baby’ and ‘Little Bee’ as a child. Explaining the significance of the nicknames, his mother said, “When he got home from school, I’d tell him to do homework but he’d say he didn’t have any. I’d be making dinner and he would jump out of the window and run off until late. He used to cry when he passed and his friends didn’t score. People called him ‘cry-baby’ and ‘Little Bee’ because nobody could catch him.”

In 2015, Astronomers led by David Sobral, a Reader in Astrophysics at the University of Lancaster, used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observator, with help from the W. M. Keck Observatory, Subaru Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, made the discovery. The research team included members of the University of California, Riverside, University of Geneva, University of Leiden and University of Lisbon. The name of the galaxy (Cosmos Redshift 7 Galaxy or CR7 Galaxy) was inspired by Ronaldo himself.

Not just a galaxy but an airport in Portugal is named after Cristiano Ronaldo. The airport in Madeira, Ronaldo’s birthplace, was renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in 2016 after the player led Portugal to European Championship glory, the first-ever international trophy in the nation’s history.

In 2017, Ronaldo sold the replica of the Ballon d’Or trophy which he received in 2013 to an auction in London to raise £600,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation - a charity that grants wishes for terminally-ill children. A man with a golden heart.

A documentary film on the life of Cristiano Ronaldo was made by British film director Anthony Wonke. The film was released on November 9, 2015, in the United Kingdom.

With 399 million followers on his Instagram account, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed individual in the world. After Ronaldo, comes Kylie Jenner (307 million) and Lionel Messi (305 million).

With 97 million followers on his official account, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed athlete on Twitter.

Along with Instagram and Twitter, Cristiano Ronaldo also dominates Facebook as he has 150,720,900 followers on the platform. He is the most followed athlete on Facebook.

In 2013, the player launched his own brand CR7. It started with an underwear range but with time, it got expanded to eyewear, footwear, fragrances and denim apparel.

In 2010, in the buildup to the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo got a wax statue at the Madame Tussauds in London. He was the fourth footballer to have a statue at the famous wax museum after Pele, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.

The Puskas Award,given to the best goal scored in a calendar year, was started in 2009 and Cristiano Ronaldo was the first-ever recipient of the award. He won it for his long-range goal against FC Porto in the 2008/09 Champions League for Manchester United.

The Portuguese star has bagged a total of 34 trophies in his career out of which 32 are in club football and two with the Portuguese national team.

In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed former Iran international Ali Daei to become the all-time highest goalscorer in international football. He currently has 115 goals to his name.

Other than being the highest goalscorer in international football, he has also scored against the most number of national teams, 46.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player in the world who has scored in four different World Cups (2006 to 2018). He has seven goals in four editions of the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo has played the most number of international matches, 184, among active football players.

Out of the 184 international matches he has played for Portugal, he has captained them in 127 matches which is the most for a Portuguese skipper.

With 450 goals to his name, Cristiano Ronaldo is Real Madrid all-time highest goalscorer. He achieved the feat in just nine seasons at the club.

Ronaldo is the all-time highest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League with 140 goals to his name in 181 appearances.

Other than being the all-time highest goalscorer in the Champions League, he has also scored against the most number of clubs in the competition, 37.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won three FIFA World Player of the Year Awards (2 The Best FIFA Awards). He has won the award joint-highest number of times along with Zinedine and Brazil’s Ronaldo. He has also won five Ballon d’Or awards.

With 803 goals to his name combining club and international football, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest active goalscorer in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most number of hat-tricks in international football among male players - 10.

At the 2018 World Cup in a group stage tie against Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only three players in the history of football to score in every minute of the game. The other two players are Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Luis Suarez.

Source: https://twitter.com/ChampionsLeague/status/1489872169232441347?t=cke4BkpMpCs583XJ_96wkQ&s=19

Lalasticlala
Seun
mynd44

Happy birthday to Pendu, the wannabe Goat.

Knowing how narcissistic the baba is, I'm sure he'll be sulking over his woeful performance yesterday that led to his team's disgraceful exit at the hands of a lowly division 2 side.

No goals and assists throughout this year. I'm sure japa plans are already in motion. Homecoming don enter mud

Happy birthday once again jare.

Fun "factos": Ronaldo has missed the same number of penalties as Messi in his career (29), yet Messi is labelled a poor penalty taker while CR is considered best in this regard. Irony of life!

Yawns

Happy bday to him

We already know messi is the goat doesn’t mean we shouldn’t wish him a happy bday

Imagine Ronaldo celebrating this bday with most ballon d or like the real goat Messi

ThierryJay:
Happy birthday to Pendu, the wannabe Goat.

Knowing how narcissistic the baba is, I'm sure he'll be sulking over his woeful performance yesterday that led to his team's ignominious exit at the hands of a lowly division 2 side.

No goals and assists throughout this year. I'm sure japa plans are already in motion. Homecoming don enter mud

Happy birthday once again jare.

Fun "factos": Ronaldo has missed the same number of penalties as Messi in his career (29), yet Messi is labelled a poor penalty taker while CR is considered best in this regard. Irony of life!

Christiano Ronaldo is goated

ThierryJay:
Happy birthday to Pendu, the wannabe Goat.

Knowing how narcissistic the baba is, I'm sure he'll be sulking over his woeful performance yesterday that led to his team's ignominious exit at the hands of a lowly division 2 side.

No goals and assists throughout this year. I'm sure japa plans are already in motion. Homecoming don enter mud

Happy birthday once again jare.

Fun "factos": Ronaldo has missed the same number of penalties as Messi in his career (29), yet Messi is labelled a poor penalty taker while CR is considered best in this regard. Irony of life!

Ronaldo have done many times Messi will always dream of....... I think it is hightime yah all started appreciating him...... He is 37 years RN......

In a few years, he will be gone......

Maybe you will get to appreciate him then....

Rastaramsey:



Ronaldo have done many times Messi will always dream of....... I think it is hightime yah all started appreciating him...... He is 37 years RN......

In a few years, he will be gone......

Maybe you will get to appreciate him then....

Done what?

Rastaramsey:



Ronaldo have done many times Messi will always dream of....... I think it is hightime yah all started appreciating him...... He is 37 years RN......

In a few years, he will be gone......

Maybe you will get to appreciate him then....

Bros, is it by force to appreciate your Luxembourg local government chairman?!

Rastaramsey:



Ronaldo have done many times Messi will always dream of....... I think it is hightime yah all started appreciating him...... He is 37 years RN......

In a few years, he will be gone......

Maybe you will get to appreciate him then....

You, have you appreciated Messi for giving the football world unparalleled magic for almost 2 decades?

Have you appreciated Messi for being the best in the world on the field of play? Have you appreciated him for winning a whopping 7 Ballon D'ors, cementing his status as the greatest?

Or are you waiting till he retires before you do so? Once you lead by example, then we can talk bro.

Keep living and age gracefully Cristiano.
Your position as one of the all time greats has long been cemented.
Happy birthday C. Boy.

.

The best player Real Madrid ever signed. The real GOAT. We miss you so much!!!

.

Happy birthday to the world's greatest football legend ever walked the planet earth. Congratulations.

More life ronaldo

He bottled FA Cup, missed penalty, could not score open net. Factor. It was a mistake on the part of Manchester United signing him

Lionel Messi is a goat, while Cristiano Ronaldo is the GOAT.

My idol wen first unfollow greenwood after the allegation.

Too bad.

Happy birthday to football top scorer on planet earth. Cristiano Ronaldo.

ThierryJay:
Happy birthday to Pendu, the wannabe Goat.

Knowing how narcissistic the baba is, I'm sure he'll be sulking over his woeful performance yesterday that led to his team's disgraceful exit at the hands of a lowly division 2 side.

No goals and assists throughout this year. I'm sure japa plans are already in motion. Homecoming don enter mud

Happy birthday once again jare.

Fun "factos": Ronaldo has missed the same number of penalties as Messi in his career (29), yet Messi is labelled a poor penalty taker while CR is considered best in this regard. Irony of life!

Even you are a CR7 fan. You are quick to comment anywhere you see CR7. Drawing unnecessary comparison. Someone's birthday is celebrated, say happy birthday or ignor the post. Your obsession is obvious.

[quote author=ThierryJay post=109973300]

You, have you appreciated Messi for giving the football world unparalleled magic for almost 2 decades?

Have you appreciated Messi for being the best in the world on the field of play? Have you appreciated him for winning a whopping 7 Ballon D'ors, cementing his status as the greatest?

Am a Messi fan but I respect Ronaldo.....
I hope that answers your questions...

Great

Cc

ThierryJay:
Happy birthday to Pendu, the wannabe Goat.

Knowing how narcissistic the baba is, I'm sure he'll be sulking over his woeful performance yesterday that led to his team's disgraceful exit at the hands of a lowly division 2 side.

No goals and assists throughout this year. I'm sure japa plans are already in motion. Homecoming don enter mud

Happy birthday once again jare.

Fun "factos": Ronaldo has missed the same number of penalties as Messi in his career (29), yet Messi is labelled a poor penalty taker while CR is considered best in this regard. Irony of life!

What is the percentage missed?

I’m not a fan but I celebrate this young man’s success. You have stamped your name forever in the sands of time and history.

Happy Birthday to a great footballer.
A very hard working guy.
A walking machine.
Hard work pays.