This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is dos Santos and the second is Aveiro.

Cristiano Ronaldo CRonaldo.jpg Ronaldo with Real Madrid in September 2009 Personal information Full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro Date of birth 5 February 1985 (1985-02-05) (age 25) Place of birth Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] Playing position Forward Winger Club information Current club Real Madrid Number 7 Youth career 1993–1995 Andorinha 1995–1997 Nacional 1997–2001 Sporting CP Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2001–2003 Sporting CP 25 (3) 2003–2009 Manchester United 196 (84) 2009– Real Madrid 30 (26) National team‡ 2001–2002 Portugal U17 9 (6) 2003 Portugal U20 5 (1) 2002–2003 Portugal U21 6 (3) 2004 Portugal U23 3 (1) 2003– Portugal 76 (23)

• Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:14, 28 August 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:38, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃtiˈɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985),[2] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after being transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest paid football player in the world.[3]

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year[4] and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.[5] Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."[6]