Ronaldo served a mandatory one-game ban when Portugal played its final qualifying game last week — a 9-1 win over Armenia that sealed their place at the World Cup in North America. There are a few cases, and players who are sent off in their last competitive game before the finals will always miss at least one game. Croatia's Mario Mandzukic should have missed the opening two games of the 2014 finals after he was sent off for serious foul play in the second leg of betwarts casino login the play-off win over Iceland. He is also the only player ever to score goals at five different World Cups.
- He scored his 100th league goal for Madrid in a 5–1 win over Real Sociedad on 24 March 2012, breaking the previous club record held by Ferenc Puskás.
- After leading his club to its eighth consecutive Serie A title, he was named the league’s MVP in May 2019.
- At the close of the year, Ronaldo scored 54 goals in all competitions for Al-Nassr and Portugal, making him the outright top scorer in 2023, reaching the same goalscoring record as in 2016.
- Computer security company McAfee produced a 2012 report ranking footballers by the probability of an internet search for their name leading to an unsafe website, with Ronaldo’s name first on the list.
- He was a key player in Portugal’s fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup and became the full-time captain of the national team in 2008.
- In the 2019 UEFA Nations League semifinal against Switzerland, Ronaldo scored three goals to lead Portugal to a 3–1 victory and secure their place in the final, which Portugal won after defeating the Netherlands 1–0.
- He scored 35 La Liga goals in 2015–16 and helped Real win its record 11th Champions League title, and in December 2016 he won a fourth career Ballon d’Or for his accomplishments.
Famous Athletes
With 10 goals, he finished as top scorer for a third consecutive season, alongside Messi and Neymar. Following the 2012–13 winter break, Ronaldo captained Madrid for the first time in an official match, scoring twice to lift 10-man Madrid to a 4–3 win over Sociedad on 6 January. In the 2012–13 season, he scored his first hat-trick in the Champions League in a 4–1 win over Ajax. Despite scoring 33 goals in all competitions and contributing to Real Madrid's 96 points in La Liga, his first season with Madrid ended trophyless. With his 2008 Ballon d'Or and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldo became United's first Ballon d'Or winner since Best in 1968, and the first Premier League player to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year. United reached the final against Chelsea in Moscow on 21 May, where, despite his opening goal being negated by an equaliser and his penalty kick being saved in the shoot-out, United emerged victorious, winning 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of 120 minutes.
What was Cristiano Ronaldo’s early life like?
He set a franchise record for goals scored in 2008, before transferring to Real Madrid the following year. Ronaldo played brilliantly at the 2018 World Cup, scoring four goals in four games as Portugal advanced to the knockout round only to lose its first match of that stage to a strong defensive Uruguay side. After a successful season with Sporting that brought the young player to the attention of Europe’s biggest football clubs, Ronaldo signed with English powerhouse Manchester United in 2003. This unique role has been described by pundits as that of a "false", "attacking", or "goalscoring winger", as Ronaldo effectively almost functioned as a striker at times with his central runs into the penalty area, despite actually playing on the left flank.
Have any players not been so fortunate?
Ronaldo netted his 324th goal as a member of Real in October 2015 to become the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Soon thereafter Ronaldo was sold to Spain’s Real Madrid—a club with which he had long been rumored to want to play—for a then record £80 million (about $131 million) transfer fee. He first played for Clube Desportivo Nacional of Madeira and then transferred to Sporting Clube de Portugal (known as Sporting Lisbon), where he played for that club’s various youth teams before making his debut on Sporting’s first team in 2002. Cristiano Ronaldo (born February 5, 1985, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal) is a Portuguese football (soccer) forward who is one of the greatest players of his generation.
2018: All-time Madrid top scorer and fifth Ballon d'Or
On 5 April, he scored five goals in a game for the first time in his career, including an eight-minute hat-trick, in a 9–1 rout of Granada. He scored his 100th league goal for Madrid in a 5–1 win over Real Sociedad on 24 March 2012, breaking the previous club record held by Ferenc Puskás. The following season saw Ronaldo score 60 goals across all competitions, leading Madrid to their first league title in four years with a record 100 points and his runner-up finish to Lionel Messi in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
He became a star player at United, where he won three consecutive Premier League titles, the Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup. FIFA said its disciplinary verdict of "the three-match suspension is subject to appeal to the FIFA Appeal Committee." It was Ronaldo's first red card in what was his record-extending 226th international appearance.
- After the final, Ronaldo referred to his time with Madrid in the past tense, sparking speculation that he could leave the club.
- He was an instant sensation and soon came to be regarded as one of the best forwards in the game.
- He set a franchise record for goals scored in 2008, before transferring to Real Madrid the following year.
- The sentence was served under probation, without any jail time, so long as he did not re-offend.
- “It’s part of my life now. People are bound to compare us. He tries to do his best for his club and for his national team, as I do, and there is a degree of rivalry with both of us trying to do the best for the teams we represent.”
Journées Européennes des Métiers d’Art – 31 mars au 6 avril 2025
By most measures, Ronaldo’s debut season with Juventus was a successful one. I only have feelings of great gratitude to this club, to the fans and to the city. Ronaldo’s 2016 wins included the European Championship, Champions League, and Club World Cup, plus individual awards from UEFA and France Football magazine. Ronaldo went on to compile an impressive list of individual honors and team trophies. “But it means a new challenge and is going to help me be the best footballer.” Ronaldo’s commitment to Manchester United had come under constant question, and speculation swirled that he wanted to play elsewhere, so nobody was all that surprised to see Ronaldo leave.
From 2013 onwards, under manager Carlo Ancelotti, he effectively adapted his style to the physical effects of ageing with increasingly reduced off-the-ball movement and general involvement, completing fewer dribbles and passes per game, and instead focusing on short-distance creating and goalscoring. In his final seasons at United, Ronaldo played an even more attacking and central role, functioning both as a striker and as a supporting forward, or even as an attacking midfielder on occasion. Allied with his increased stamina and work-rate, his goalscoring ability improved drastically on the left wing where he was given the positional freedom to move into the centre to finish attacks. Later that year, on 5 September, he scored his 900th career goal in a 2–1 victory over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League. On 23 March 2023, Ronaldo scored a brace against Liechtenstein as he earned his 197th overall cap to become the most capped male footballer of all time. In the 2018 World Cup, Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match, in a 3–3 draw against Spain.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 at the age of 18 and has earned more than 200 caps, making him history's most-capped male player. Following issues with the club hierarchy, Ronaldo signed for Juventus in 2018 in a transfer worth an initial €100 million, where he was pivotal in winning two Serie A titles. He won Ballon d'Ors in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, and was runner-up three times to Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival. At Madrid, he was at the forefront of the club's resurgence as a dominant European force, helping them win four Champions Leagues between 2014 and 2018, including the long-awaited La Décima.