Cristiano Ronaldo in best pictures

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born to 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 at the time. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia.

Ronaldo's favourite boyhood team was S.L. Benfica. At the age of eight, he played for amateur team C.F. Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club CD Nacional, and after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting Portugal, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for £12.24 million after the 2002–03 season.

Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He was called up for Euro 2004, scoring in a 2-1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece and in a 2-1 semifinal win over the Netherlands.

He was the second-highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals, and scored his first and only World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty kick