Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is a name that conjures up images of footballing royalty.

First there was the one in a million Brazilian legend Ronaldo Luis Nazrio de Lima.

However there is a new Ronaldo who like his namesake is taking the footballing world by storm.

This Ronaldo is Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo. Like the Ronaldo before him he is the best player in the world.

He leads the life of stardom now, however his life wasn't always that good.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born 5 February 1985 is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger 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 having transferred to Real Madrid in a deal worth 80 million. His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid player in the world.

He was named after Ronald Reagan, because Ronald was Ronaldo's father's best friend.

Andorinha was Ronaldo's first football club. His father was the Andorinha's kit man. CD Nacional signed Ronaldo in 1995. His first and only season for them ended with a title winning campaign. Thanks to that season, he was taken on a 3 day trial by Sporting CP. He impressed over the 3 days. Soon after he was signed for an undisclosed fee.

Alcochete was Sporting Cp's youth program name. This is where Ronaldo started off. In one season he played for Sporting U-16, U-17, U-18, B- team and the first team in just one season. He was the first person to have ever done that!

When he was 15, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later

Liverpool's then manager Gerard Houllier first spotted Ronaldo, however he declined to sign. The following year he was signed by Liverpool's arch rivals Man United. The decision not to buy Liverpool would turn out to be a costly decision.

His next 4 years at Old Trafford was the stuff of legend!

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for 12.24 million after the 200203 season. He

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