On February 5, 1985, in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born. He grew up in the nearby parish of Santo António.He is the youngest and fourth child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro, a cleaning lady and cook in the hospitality business.[15] and José Dinis Aveiro, a part-time kit man for the football team Andorinha and a municipal gardener at the Junta de Freguesia in Santo António.[16][17][18] African-born Isabel da Piedade, his paternal great-grandmother, was born on the island of São Vicente in the Portuguese Cape Verde region and came to Madeira Island when she was sixteen years old.[19][20] He has an olderbrother Hugo and two elder sisters, Liliana Cátia "Katia" and Elma.[21] His father was a lover of actor and US President Ronald Reagan, thus he was called after him.[22] His mother disclosed that she desired an abortion because of her financial situation, her father's drinking, and the fact that she already had too many children; nevertheless, her doctor declined to carry out the surgery.[23][24] Ronaldo was up in a poor Roman Catholic family where he shared a room with all of his siblings.[25]

Ronaldo played for Sporting CP at the start of his senior career before joining Manchester United in 2003, where he won the FA Cup in his debut campaign. Along the way, he would win the FIFA Club World Cup, the Champions League, and three straight Premier League championships. At the age of 23, he also took home his first Ballon d'Or. When Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid in 2009, the deal was the topic of the then-highest association football transfer, costing €94 million (£80 million). Together with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, he established an offensive three that became a vital part of the team's success, helping them win four Champions Leagues between 2014 and 2018, including La Décima. He won consecutive Ballons d'Or in 2013 and 2014 at this time.

And once more in 2016 and 2017, finishing third each time behind Lionel Messi, who was thought to be his competitor in the field. In addition, he ended as the competition's top scorer for six straight seasons from 2012 to 2018, making him both the club's all-time greatest striker and the all-time top scorer in the Champions League. Ronaldo won two La Liga championships, two Copas del Rey, two UEFA Super Cups, three Club World Cups, four Champions Leagues, and two Copas del Rey with Real. In 2018, he made the most expensive transfer for an Italian club and a player over 30 years old when he signed with Juventus for an initial sum of €100 million (£88 million). He became the first-ever Serie A champion after winning two Serie A crowns, two Supercoppa Italiana trophies, and a Coppa Italia.

became the first football player to finish as the top scorer in the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues, and he was named the inaugural Serie A Most Valuable Player. Before his contract expired in 2022, he made his way back to Manchester United in 2021, where he concluded his lone complete season as the team's top scorer. He signed with Al Nassr in 2023. At the age of 18, Ronaldo made his Portugal debut on the international scene in 2003. With almost 200 caps, he holds the record for most male caps in history.[11] He is also the all-time leading male goal scorer with 130 goals on the international scene. Ronaldo has participated in ten major competitions and scored in 10 of them. In 2004, he helped Portugal go to the final of the Euro, where he scored his first goal for his country. He became the captain ofthe national squad in July of 2008. The Portuguese Football Federation declared Ronaldo the greatest Portuguese player of all time in 2015. As the second-highest goal scorer of the tournament, he won the Silver Boot and guided Portugal to their first major tournament victory at Euro 2016. With this success, he would win his fourth Ballon d'Or. Additionally, he scored the most goals in the 2019 UEFA Nations League final and went on to win the Golden Boot as the top scorer at Euro 2020. He also guided them to victory in the 2019 UEFA Nations League. He became the player with the most international caps in men's football in 2023 and beat the record for most goals scored for his country in the same tournament. Among thethe country's squad in July 2008. Ronaldo was voted the Portuguese Football Federation's all-time greatest player in 2015. He scored the second-most goals of the tournament in Euro 2016 to lead Portugal to their first major tournament victory the following year, and he was awarded the Silver Boot.