Cristiano Ronaldo is referred as, by some, as the greatest player that has ever played the beautiful game. His unreal skills and godlike shooting within the game is what has made him one of the superpowers of La Liga and world soccer. He was a prodigy born in Madeira, Portugal and his first team that he played with was Sporting CP, a team in the Portuguese league of soccer. During a match against Manchester United, young and fast-paced Ronaldo pushed himself to the limit and impressed Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson (former Manchester United manager, current one is Jose Mourinho). Soon after, as Rio Ferdinand explains it, "We were waiting for one and a half hours after the game. Then the manager comes back in and said, "I think I've got him.'" This was literally soon after the game. Cristiano Ronaldo was about to get his first taste to Premiere League soccer. After six years of major success at Manchester United, Real Madrid picked up the Portuguese powerhouse, this is where Cristiano's career really took off. Throughout his entire Real Madrid career, Ronaldo has scored 372 goals in 357 games. In a goals-per-game ratio, this is a stunning 1.04. His career has seriously taken flight and continues to still at the age of 32. Now that all the history of one of the world's greatest is covered, here is a list of five interesting facts about Cristiano Ronaldo.
1. Heart condition
When Cristiano was just a teenager at the age of fifteen, he was diagnosed with a heart condition. This made his hearth beat faster than the normal human, even at a resting pace. According to Ronaldo's mother, Dolores Aveiro, "They used a sort of laser to cauterize the source of the problem. He was operated on in the morning and came out at the end of the afternoon." This heart condition has lead some to believe that he is one of the fastest players in the world because of that.
2. Ronaldo pays the whole fee
A few years ago, Ronaldo was asked to donate his cleats to help pay for the operation of a child by the name of Erik Ortiz Cruz. While donating his cleats was a very good deed for a suffering child's operation, Cristiano had something else in mind. Instead of just donating, he actually paid the full price of $83,000. Erik Cruz suffered a brain disorder called cortical dysplasia, a condition that can lead to as many as 30 seizures a day. He has been known for spending a lot of his free time with sick children in hospitals around the world.
3. Ronaldo- Euro 2016 Manager
During the Euro 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo achieved huge international success with Portugal. Portugal won the Euro 2016 against France. Eder struck the ball beautifully into the bottom right corner of the goal to win it for Portugal. What was more interesting to many people, however, was the role that Ronaldo took after being substituted off the field, injured. He acted as a manager and "guided" the team to victory. The frustration he showed in these videos goes to show that Ronaldo might make a good manager when it comes to his post-playing career.
Over all, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in the history of soccer. He is a man on the pitch and off it as well. These facts and a whole lot more go to show that he is not only a powerhoue but a gentle giant as well.
