Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; 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 (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is believed to have made him the highest-paid player in the world. 
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at CD Nacional and his successes with the team led to a move to Sporting Clube de Portugal two seasons afterwards. 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 addition 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."
Early life:Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro. His second given name, "Ronaldo," was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his father's favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.
Personal life:Ronaldo's father José Dinis Aveiro died of alcoholism at age 52 when Ronaldo was 20. Ronaldo does not consume alcohol and does not smoke.
Ronaldo has a close relationship with his mother. During March 2009, he donated £100,000 to the hospital which helped saved his mother's life after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
Ronaldo wrote an autobiography about his life up until 2007. This was entitled Moments and was published on 15 December 2007.
Along with one of his sisters, Ronaldo opened a fashion boutique under the name "CR7" (comprising his initials and shirt number). There are currently only two CR7 store locations open, both of which are in Portugal, one being in Lisbon and the other in Madeira.On October 2009, designer Giorgio Armani announced Ronaldo would be taking over from David Beckham as the spokesmodel for Emporio Armani men's underwear and jeans. He will begin appearing in a new worldwide advertising campaign starting in spring 2010.
