15 Things You Don't Know About Cristiano Ronaldo

 

Although much is known about Cristiano Ronaldo, the most publicized athlete in the world, I hope that I have found enough facts to surprise you. Here are 20 things you didn't know about Cristiano Ronaldo.

Surname:

Cristiano Ronaldo's last name is actually his second given name. He was born Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro in Madeira, Portugal on February 5th 1985 his parents named him Ronaldo in honor of then US President Ronald Reagan. There isn't an elaborate reason for this choice according to Cristiano both his parents liked the name and thought it sounded strong. But they also liked the man himself, in fact Ronald Reagan was Ronaldo seniors favourite actor. When Cristiano was first asked for a surname Ronaldo was the obvious pick.

Racing Heart:

 When Ronaldo was 15 Doctors discovered that he had a condition that threatened to end his soccer career. The condition is “tachycardia” or a “Racing heart” which occurs when a person's resting heart rate far exceeds the normal rhythm. Thankfully Ronaldo underwent a successful operation in which the doctor cauterized the problem area. He then resumed soccer a few days later. If the condition wasn't such an easy fix we would have never seen one of the greatest athletes of our generation.

Ritual:

Like many athletes Ronaldo is a ritualistic, he has a very specific pregame routine which if disrupted will ruin his day and possibly his performance. First Ronaldo wakes up early in the morning, then he does a set of Ab workouts before eating breakfast which will consist of high carbs and high protein foods. A formula he will follow for the rest of the day's meals. Then Ronaldo heads to the stadium where he'll get ready for the game this includes stretching, listening to music and according to former teammate Rooney looking at himself in the mirror. Of course, water is essential so Renaldo keeps himself hydrated throughout his pregame rituals.

Earnings:

Renaldo is one of the highest-paid athlete in the world, but you may want to know exactly how high!! luckily Forbes answered our collective question when the magazine released a list of the highest earning athletes of 2021, till June he earned 120 million dollars. Ronaldo ranked third among the world's athletes, feeding the likes of LeBron James, Dak Prescott, Roger Federer and Neymar. The two that beat Ronaldo are Conor McGregor  who made 208 million dollars and fellow greatest soccer player Lionel Messi who earned 126 million dollars.

Versus Messi:

One of the biggest sporting debates is who is better Ronaldo or Messi it's the Jordan versus LeBron or Gretzky vs. Lemieux of soccer. But Messi versus Ronaldo may be harder to decide because of how similar their careers have been. Ronaldo leads Messi and career stats but not by much and this is on account of Messi being younger on a per-game basis Messi has a slight edge. However Messi lags behind in international success, perhaps the 2022 World Cup will give us a definite answer.

Alcoholism:

In 2005 Ronaldo's father José Dinis Aveiro passed away from complications related to alcoholism. He was 52 years old. Ronaldo was only 20 at the time and his father struggles and untimely passing inspired the soccer star to abstain from drinking. Ronaldo tried and failed to get his father to stop so Ronaldo is living as his dad should have. Cristiano so strict about his abstinence that he won a libel suit against the Daily Telegraph for

running a story that claimed he was drinking at a nightclub.

Endorsements:

Though Ronaldo made 120 million dollars a year only 61 million is from salary and bonuses. that means that the rest a whole 59 million is from endorsements. The stud soccer player has helped 31 sponsorship deals, of which Nike is the main contributor. In 2003 the sportswear company signed Ronaldo to a lifetime sponsorship contract that is worth approximately 1 billion dollars. It pays Ronaldo about 30 million per year. Other backers include KFC which paid Cristiano 3 million dollars from 2013 to 2016 and Tag Heuer watches which pays him 1 million dollars annually.

 

World Cup records:

Russia 2018 was the fourth time Ronaldo played in the World Cup and brought his total number of games in the tournament to 17 in that edition. Multiple records have been broken by Ronaldo, at the Russia set tournament in Portugal's opening match against Spain Ronaldo recorded a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw becoming the oldest player to perform such a feat in a World Cup game he also became the first Portuguese player to score a goal in four World Cup tournaments and only the fourth of all players to do so.

 

Fame:

If you're an American wondering why Ronaldo makes so much money and garner's so much acclaim consider this. In the 2019 instalment of ESPN's annual world fame index, Ronaldo was ranked number 1, to put this in perspective LeBron James was 2, Tiger Woods was 6 and Tom Brady was 38, even Renaldo's adversary Messi beat out every other athlete besides LeBron James. This shouldn't be a surprise however considering soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Ronaldo's ranking was no outlier either this is the fourth year in a row that he ranked first.

 

17 years:

Some soccer players start their senior careers early, take Freddy Adu who became famous in 2004 for being drafted by the DC United at just 14 years of age, though Ronaldo wasn't that young he probably still had zits when he was called up to the senior level. He was just 17 when he played his first senior game for Portugal.  Sporting CP and in 2003 at the age of 18 Ronaldo joined Manchester United beginning a professional career that is now legendary.

 

Charity:

 

Whenever there's an international crisis Ronaldo can be relied upon to donate. Thousands of people have been the beneficiaries of Renaldo's generosity. After the earthquake and tsunami hit the Indian Ocean in 2004 Ronaldo visited an effective Indonesian location and helped fundraise for the reconstruction of the city. He also sold his 2011 Golden Boot for nearly two million dollars and gave the money to schools in Gaza. Even the libel damages he received from The Daily Telegraph were given to a Portuguese charity

 

School:

Ronaldo was and still may be a sensitive person, he was nicknamed crybaby!! by school teammates because of his pension to cry. When the person to whom he passed the ball failed to score. This sensitivity ran the spectrum of emotions. At age 14, Ronaldo threw a chair at its teacher because his teacher disrespected him. He was expelled from school but this wasn't a negative experience because it allowed Cristiano to focus entirely on his soccer career the rest is history.

 

Poverty:

Cristiano came from humble beginnings. He grew up in a two-room tin roof Shack in an impoverished neighbourhood of Madeira. Ronaldo shared one of the rooms with three of his siblings. His parents raised the family on a tiny income that came from his mother's cooking and his father's gardening. His parents were so poor that they couldn't afford toys or Christmas presents. Luckily soccer doesn't cost much to play so Cristiano had a valuable outlet for whatever dissatisfaction he may have with his life. However, Ronaldo claims he had a happy childhood as it didn't feel like he was disadvantaged.

 

Religion:

Portugal is 81% Catholic so it makes sense that Ronaldo follows the same religion. Cristiano is a devout Roman Catholic. He even collects crucifix necklaces and credits God for his amazing soccer skills. Ronaldo is just a casual catholic. After a breakup which left Ronaldo with sole custody of his son, his family expressed their disappointment with the decision as they believe that a child is better off with both parents but Ronaldo children are more important than religious orthodoxy.

 

Athleticism:

Cristiano is a near-perfect athletic specimen. He can jump two feet six inches off the ground, which is higher than most MBA players and can take a soccer ball 80 miles an hour, which is comparable to baseball pitches. In 2012 Ronaldo competed against Spanish sprinter and he'll Devine Rodriguez in zigzag sprinting and one fight half a minute and he was barely beaten by Rodriguez when they raced in a straight line. With only 10% body fat Ronaldo has a body that has graced the covers of many magazines and is the envy of men all over the world.

 

Galaxy:

No, we're not talking about the LA soccer team, Ronaldo's fame escaped the confines of planet Earth when a team of astronomers from the University of  Lisbon named a newly discovered galaxy cosmos redshift 7. Cosmos Redshift 7 which is stylized in scientific vernacular as CR7 for first Cristiano Ronaldo who famously wears number 7. The galaxy is nearly 13 billion years old, as it was formed just 800 million years after the Big Bang.

That's all for 15 things you didn't know about Cristiano Ronaldo, what other surprising facts do you know about the soccer star! are you a fan let me know in the comments below thank you for reading bye.