The best footballer in the world?
The contemporary football world appears to be divided into two spheres.
One of those consists of football fans and aficionados who support and glorify Barcelona wizard Lionel ‘Leo’ Messi, whereas another one is enchanted by the Portuguese star and the leader of Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo.
One of the greatest footballers of our time and generally speaking as well, Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the physically fittest athletes in the world. His skills, explosive technique and power make him a forceful goal-machine which keeps breaking records for club and country.
Being one of the most popular players on the globe is likely to generate an incredible fan-base globally, but we are fairly confident that there are some aspects of Ronaldo’s life and career you are not familiar with.
And while our readers already got the chance to enjoy the 10 things they didn’t know about Leo Messi, here is a list of the ten things you didn’t know about Cristiano Ronaldo – if nothing else then to establish the cosmic balance.
1.) It is already a widely-known fact that Cristiano Ronaldo was named after the American president Ronald Regan, who swapped his movie career for politics and had been sworn in his second term in the White House just a month before Cristiano was born.
A story about his childhood nickname is not that popular however. Little is known that the Portuguese star was nicknamed ‘crybaby’ due to his expressively emotional nature. It was a nickname kids at school gave him since he would get so emotional whenever he would pass the ball and his teammates did not score.
2.) Cristiano Ronaldo got expelled from school at the age of 14 and for an utterly bizarre reason. The Real Madrid forward threw a chair at his teacher, who – according to Ronaldo’s claims – disrespected him.
The Portuguese international ‘was not thick’, it was only that he was not interested in school as at the age of 14 he began to be aware of his potential.
3.) Ronaldo’s football career was placed under serious doubt only year later when then 15-year-old boy Cristiano was diagnosed with a racing heart. This heart condition could have ended his football career in total, but a laser operation was performed to cauterise the problematic area which was causing the problem and Ronaldo resumed training only days after the intervention to continue his impressive development.
4.) Cristiano Ronaldo started his career at his hometown club Nacional and only three-day trial was enough to convince Sporting CP to sign him. The Portuguese international made his debut with the Portugal powerhouse at the age of 17 against Inter Milan. His Primeira Liga debut came shortly afterwards with Ronaldo impressing right from the start with two goals in a 3-0 win over Moreirense.
5.) Before his record-breaking £12.24 million move to Manchester United in 2003, which made him the most expensive teenager in English football and the first-ever Portuguese to play for the Red Devils, Cristiano Ronaldo could have easily become a Liverpool player.
Gerard Houllier was keen to land the talented teenager, but financial issues prevented the deal from coming through, opening doors to Manchester United to finalise the deal.
6.) Football fans are well aware of his footballing records which are consisted of various trophies won on club, national and individual level, but there is a record not many of you will be aware of.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid presentation remains to this date the most-attended one in world football. Over 80,000 people gathered in Madrid to create an unforgeable memory for Cristiano Ronaldo and to break a record previously held by one and only Diego Armando Maradona who amassed 75,000 Napoli supporters and fans back in 1984.
7.) Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge family man, but his family is a bit unorthodox. Ronaldo is a father to Cristiano Ronaldo Jr who is yet to be revealed the identity of his own mother. It is one of the best kept secrets in world football, but the most-debated one as well.
There are rumours about a surrogate mother, and all we know thus far is that the boy was born in the United States and that his mother is Portuguese. Other speculations argue that the mother is a waitress Ronaldo once dated for a short period of time.
8.) Cristano Ronaldo does not drink alcohol or smokes cigarettes. A model professional who based this decision on more than just sporting reasons. Namely, Ronaldo’s father Jose Dinis Aveiro passed away due to alcoholism, which is why Ronaldo avoids drinking which reminds him of the death of his father, who continually refused to go to rehab.
In addition, Cristiano Ronaldo does not have any tattoos on his body as he donates his blood regularly.
9.) Cristiano Ronaldo’s selfish image which often follows his around is a huge contrast to his true nature. The Portuguese striker is a charitable man, a great donor and the community leader. His charitable actions are too many to be listed. He regularly donates money to his neighbourhood, whereas his individual acts of kindness make hadlines on regular basis as well.
Ronaldo paid £100,000 to a hospital where his mother was treated, while he also takes care of the youngest of his fans. Ronaldo was once asked to donate his shirt and shoes for auction so that the family of a young cancer-stricken boys could raise money for treatment, but Ronaldo chose to pay for the treatment himself and still send his full kit to the boy to keep as a souvenir.
10.) Ultimately, here is one highly interesting fact about Cristiano Ronaldo who became the officially most googled player in the world in 2012.
According to a research performed by the computer security company McAfee, Ronaldo’s name led the list which ranked footballers by the probability of an internet search for their name leading to an unsafe website.
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