Claim: Cristiano Ronaldo was a professional athlete.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro , -LRB- -LSB- kɾiʃ ` tjɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu -RSB- , born 5 February 1985 -RRB- is a Portuguese professional footballer for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team . He primarily plays as a forward , but has also been deployed as a winger and serves as captain for Portugal . In 2008 , he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards . Ronaldo then won the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014 . In 2016 , he received his fourth Ballon d'Or , the most for a European player in the history of the award , and the inaugural Best FIFA Men 's Player . In 2015 , Ronaldo scored his 500th senior career goal for club and country . Two years later , he surpassed Jimmy Greaves as the all-time top-scorer in the top five European leagues .   Often ranked the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time , Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation , during its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2015 . He was the first player to win four European Golden Shoe awards . One of the most marketable athletes in sport , in 2016 Forbes named Ronaldo the world 's best paid athlete . ESPN ranked him the world 's most famous athlete in 2016 and 2017 .   Ronaldo began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP , before signing with Manchester United at age 18 in 2003 . After winning his first trophy , the FA Cup , during his first season in England , he helped United win three successive Premier League titles , a UEFA Champions League title , and a FIFA Club World Cup . By age 23 , he had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations . He was the subject of the most expensive association football transfer when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth $ 94 million -LRB- $ 132 million -RRB- . In Spain , he has won two La Liga titles , two Copas del Rey , two Champions League titles , and two Club World Cups . Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season , having scored 17 goals in the 2013 -- 14 season . In 2014 , Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga , which he achieved in his 178th La Liga game . He is the only player in the history of football to score more than 50 goals in a season on six consecutive occasions . In 2015 , Ronaldo became the all-time top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League , and he also became Real Madrid 's all-time leading goalscorer . In 2017 , he became the first player to reach 100 goals in European club competitions , as well as in the UEFA Champions League . He is the second highest goalscorer in La Liga history behind Lionel Messi , his perceived career rival .   Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003 , at the age of 18 . He is Portugal 's most capped player of all time with over 130 caps , and has participated in seven major tournaments : four UEFA European Championships -LRB- 2004 , 2008 , 2012 and 2016 -RRB- and three FIFA World Cups -LRB- 2006 , 2010 and 2014 -RRB- . He is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals , making him Portugal 's all-time top goalscorer . He scored his first international goal in Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final . He took over full captaincy in July 2008 , and he led Portugal to the semi-finals at Euro 2012 , finishing the competition as joint-top scorer . In November 2014 , Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in the UEFA European Championship -LRB- including qualifying -RRB- with 23 goals . At Euro 2016 , he became the most capped player of all-time in the tournament , the first player to score at four consecutive European Championship finals , and also equalled Michel Platini 's all-time record for most goals scored in the competition . Ronaldo lifted the trophy after Portugal defeated France in the final , and he received the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament .