Cristiano Ronaldo/import

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, 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 from Manchester United in a deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid football player in the world.
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 Clube de Portugal. 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 UEFA Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.
In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in adittion to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years. 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". He won the Ballon d'Or again in 2014.
==External links==
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* Real Madrid official profile
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* BDFutbol profile
* ESPN Profile
Category:1985 births
Category:Players
Category:Portuguese footballers
Category:Portugal international players
Category:Portugal under-23 international players
Category:Portugal under-21 international players
Category:Portugal under-20 international players
Category:Portugal under-17 international players
Category:La Liga players
Category:Portuguese Liga players
Category:Premier League players
Category:Manchester United F.C. players
Category:Real Madrid C.F. players
Category:Sporting Clube de Portugal players
Category:2004 UEFA European Championship players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2008 UEFA European Championship players
Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2012 UEFA European Championship Players