Personal information
| Full name | Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro Jr |
| Date of birth | February 5 , 1985 (age 22) |
| Place of birth | Funchal , Madeira , Portugal |
| Height | 1.84 m |
| Nickname | Ronnie, Ron, Rocket Ronaldo, CR7, Buzzed |
| Playing position | Right/Left Winger Forward |
Club information
| Current club | Manchester United |
| Number | 7 |
Youth clubs
| Andorinha CD Nacional Sporting CP |
Senior clubs 1
| Years | Club |
| 1999–2003 2003–present |
Sporting CP Manchester United |
National team 2
| 2003–present | Portugal |
Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal , to his mother Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and his father José Dinis Aveiro. He grew up with a brother, Hugo, and two sisters, Elma and Katia. His second name ("Ronaldo") is relatively rare in Portugal . His parents named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his father's favourite actor, and not for political reasons.
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 favourite 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 .
He came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting Clube de Portugal 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.
Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games, he was sent off in a game against Manchester City and received a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2005. While playing for Portugal in a friendly against Luxembourg he was given a yellow card for pushing Jeff Strasser in the throat in retaliation after Strasser tackled him. Felipe Scolari warned Ronaldo to keep his temper in check during the World Cup.
Ronaldo made his international debut in August 2003, against Kazakhstan . He scored Portugal's only goal in their 2–1 loss to Greece in the opening match of Euro 2004 and the first goal of the semi final against the Netherlands , which Portugal won 2–1. The final saw a rematch of the opening game of the tournament, and again, Greece emerged victorious.
Ronaldo represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics , and was the second highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with 7 goals. As of 17 June 2005 , he has scored 11 goals in 25 appearances for his country.
