Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was named after U.S. President, Ronald Reagan who was his father's favorite actor.
Cristiano is the youngest child of José Dinis Aveiro and his wife, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro. He was born in Madeira, Portugal on February 5, 1985 making him 37 years old. STILL FIT EVEN IN THESE DAYS.
As a young boy Ronaldo had some not-so manly nicknames:
"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," Dolores Aveiro said.
At 15 years old Cristiano was diagnosed with a condition called racing heart. He had an operation that used a laser to cauterize the area of his heart that caused the problem. The operation enabled him to continue his training and love affair with football.
In his teen years, Ronaldo would train in the gym using weights on either of his feet and then dribble with the ball. He figured that training with the weights would improve his game to make him faster.
130 km per hour is the speed of Ronaldo's free kick. Mind-blown!
Ronaldo's jump generates five times more power than that of a wild Cheetah as it jumps in full flight. This speed allows him to reach a height of 44cm in the air, which is more than what an average NBA player can do.
If you think you're a gym buff - Ronaldo lifts about 23,055 kgs of total weight during his training session, which basically is like lifting a total of 16 Toyota Prius cars.
Ronaldo credits his start and success to his close friend Albert Fantrau who passed up a goal during a youth club game so that Ronaldo would be the one to be accepted into the Academy from Sporting (Lisbon). When Ronaldo asked him why he did it, he simply said, "You're better than me."
Even though his childhood friend is now unemployed, Fantrau now lives like a rich man with a house, and car. When asked how he maintains his lifestyle, Fantrau smiles and replies, "It's from Cristiano."
Ronaldo signed a profitable contract with Real Madrid that made him the highest paid football player in the world.
Ronaldo's is said to have paid for the cancer treatment of a 9-year-old boy showing that this man has a generous and compassionate heart.
"We've had some fantastic No. 7s, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, some wouldn't want that jersey but his confidence was high even at 18. When he made his debut as substitute against Bolton he took the place by storm," said Sir Alex Ferguson as he handed Ronaldo the No. 7 Shirt.
2006 saw Ronaldo debut his fashion boutique in Madeira, Portugal. The shop called CR7 is his initials and his shirt number.
In 2008 CR7 opened a boutique in Lisbon where he included jeans with leather pockets, patented buckled loafers and diamond-studded belts.
Unlike many sports stars today, Ronaldo has no tattoos and has no desire to get one anytime soon as he regularly donates blood.
Ronaldo also does not smoke or drink alcohol as his father died at the age of 52 from alcoholism and he also deems it will affect his playing.
There is a university in Canada that offers a sociology course about Cristiano Ronaldo.
In July 3, 2010 Ronaldo announced the birth of his son and requested his privacy when he posted a reference on his official Facebook and Twitter pages. Ronaldo has full custody of his son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
In June 2010 Ronaldo became the fourth footballer to be represented at Madame Tussauds waxwork in London.
We all know Ronaldo is fast. But did you know that he's REALLY fast. He recently went up against and defeated the Spanish sprinter Angel David Rodriquez in a zigzag spring challenge.
