Cristiano Ronaldo: Biography and Early Life

Study Notes

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer, currently a forward for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, and captains the Portugal national team.
Ronaldo was born on February 5, 1985, in São Pedro, Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira.
He is the youngest of four children born to José Dinis Aveiro and Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro.
His father worked as the equipment manager for the local club Andorinha.
His mother worked as a cook.
He was named Ronaldo after Ronald Reagan, his father's favorite actor.
He grew up in a predominantly working-class Catholic home, sharing a room with his siblings.

As a child, Ronaldo played on the streets of Santo António.
He confessed an early obsession with football, constantly playing or thinking about it.
By 1995, at age 10, Ronaldo's reputation had grown.
Marítimo and Nacional, two bigger clubs in Madeira, expressed interest in signing him.
Marítimo's manager, Rui Santos, met with Ronaldo and secured his agreement to sign.
Nacional ultimately won the bidding war, and Ronaldo signed with them.

Ronaldo has been in several relationships.
He became a father on June 17, 2010, when his son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., was born in the United States.
In January 2015, Ronaldo and Russian model Irina Shayk ended their five-year relationship.
In June 2017, Ronaldo fathered twins Eva Maria and Mateo through surrogacy in the United States.
He is currently in a relationship with Spanish model Georgina Rodríguez.
Rodríguez gave birth to their daughter Alana Martina on November 12, 2017.
On April 18, 2022, Ronaldo and Rodríguez announced the death of one of their twins during birth; the other twin, Bella Esmeralda, was born healthy.
He has five children.

Ronaldo was ranked by Forbes as the world's highest-paid athlete in 2016 and 2017.
He was ranked second highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2018 and 2019.
Forbes ranked him the world's highest-paid athlete again in 2023.
In 2024, he was ranked third.
In 2023, Ronaldo became the first footballer and third sportsman to earn $1 billion during their playing career.
He has endorsement deals with brands like Nike, Clear, Herbalife, and Abbott.

In September 2005, Ronaldo was arrested on suspicion of rape in London.
He was questioned and released on bail, and the investigation was later dropped due to a lack of evidence.
In October 2018, Kathryn Mayorga sued Ronaldo in Nevada, alleging rape in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009, followed by a $375,000 payment for silence.
Ronaldo denied the allegations.
In 2019, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, citing the inability to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
In June 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the case at the request of Mayorga's lawyer.
In 2017, Ronaldo accepted a suspended jail sentence and a fine of €18.8 million for tax fraud in Spain.
He was found guilty of evading €14.7 million in taxes between 2011 and 2014.