Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, ComM, GOIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃ'tjɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu], born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for English club Manchester United and the Portugal national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Portugal. In 2008, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Ronaldo then won the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. In 2016, he received his fourth Ballon d'Or, the most for a European player in the history of the award, and the inaugural Best FIFA Men's Player. In 2015, Ronaldo scored his 500th senior career goal for club and country.
Often ranked the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2015. He is the only player to win four European Golden Shoe awards. One of the most marketable athletes in sport, in 2016 Forbes named Ronaldo the world's best paid athlete. In June 2016, ESPN ranked him the world's most famous athlete. |
