The Beautiful Story of a Poor Boy with a racing heart to being the most Successful handsome Sportsperson – Cristiano Ronaldo still Goes Strong!

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,who goes by the name Cristiano Ronaldo, is one of the greatest and most popular sports personalities of our times. Born on February 5, 1985 in Madeira, Portugal, He got the name “Ronaldo” after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favourite actor.

The youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. Ronaldo grew up poor and shared a bedroom with his 3 other siblings.

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. Ronaldo was nicknamed “cry-baby” as a child. His mother Dolores Aveiro 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.”

Ronaldo was popular with other students at school, but he was expelled at the age of 14 after he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo said the reason he did it was because the teacher disrespected him. Despite it being a negative thing, it turned into a great turning point in his life. His mother then encouraged him to focus all his attention on soccer which he did and turned him into an international sensation.

At the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. He had a corrective surgery for the same and resumed training only a few days later.

Cristiano admits that he owes his lucky break to one of his closest friends,Albert Fantrau. “I have to thank my friend Albert for my success. We played together for a youth club. When people from Sporting (Lisbon) arrived, they told us that whoever scored more goals would be accepted to their Academy. We won that game 3-0, I scored the first goal, the Albert scored a header, and the third was a goal that impressed everyone. Albert went to one on one with the goalkeeper. I was running next to him, he went round the keeper, all he needed to do was just to get the ball into the empty net. But, he passed it to me and I scored. I was accepted to the Academy. After the match, I approached him and asked him “why” and he answered; “You’re better than me”. Several years later, the journalist went to Albert’s house and asked whether the story was true. He confirmed. He also said that his career as a football player finished after that match and he is now unemployed. “But where did you get such a gorgeous house, a car? You seemed to be a rich person. You also maintain your family … .. Where is all this from?.” Albert proudly replied; it’s from Cristiano!

Ronaldo faced personal challenges in 2007 after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, with whom he shares a beautiful and strong bond

There is a museum named Museu CR7 in his hometown Funchal, Portugal, dedicated to him which contains his trophies, rare photographs, medals and lots more related to the player.

In July 2012, computer security company McAfee produced a report ranking footballers by the probability of an internet search for their name leading to an unsafe website. Ronaldo’s name led the list

He is also philanthropic at heart. In November 2012, Ronaldo sold the golden boot he had won in 2011 for €1.5 million and gave the money to fund schools for children in Gaza. In December 2012, Ronaldo joined FIFA’s ’11 for Health’ programme to raise awareness amongst kids of how to steer clear of conditions including drug addiction, HIV, malaria and obesity.

Despite being a great player, there are many people who don’t like him for his personality as he can appear a bit arrogant at times. In 2011, the legions of fans who dislike Ronaldo were justified when Ronaldo publicly proclaimed that people didn’t like him because he was too rich, handsome, and talented.

Ronaldo insists he has no plans to retire from Portugal duty for the sake of his club career. The Manchester Club forward is the leading scorer in men’s international football with 115 goals having broken Ali Daei’s record in September.