Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional footballer, who currently plays as a forward for the Portuguese national team and Al-Nassr. Ronaldo, born on February 5, 1985,…
Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional footballer, who currently plays as a forward for the Portuguese national team and Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo, born on February 5, 1985, began his professional football career with Sporting CP in Portugal before signing with Manchester United in 2003.
He spent six successful seasons with the club before signing for Real Madrid in 2009, where he became one of the best players in the world.
He joined Juventus in 2018, where he won two Serie A titles before returning to Manchester United in 2021.
He has also had a successful international career, helping Portugal win the 2016 Uefa European Championship and reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and has a huge following of fans around the world.
He is known for his exceptional dribbling skills, incredible speed, and his exceptional goalscoring ability.
But what are the nine things you probably didn’t know about the attacker?
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the first soccer player in history to score in 5 different editions of the World Cup. At 4 are Messi, Klose, Pelé and Uwe Seeler
– The Al-Nassr star is the Portuguese footballer to have scored the most goals with the national team: 118
– Ronaldo is the first player to score 2 goals on penalty kicks in the first 11 minutes of a World Cup qualifying match (Oct. 12, 2021)
– No one so far has played more Champions League matches than Cristiano Ronaldo: 183 (Manchester United 59, Real Madrid 101, Juventus 23)
– He is the footballer who has scored the most doubles in Champions League history: 30
– Along with Messi, he is the footballer with the most hat tricks in Champions League history: 8 (Real Madrid 7, Juventus 1)
– The Portuguese is the player to have scored the most goals in Real Madrid’s history: 451
– Cristian Ronaldo is the first footballer to play 5 different editions of the European Championships (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020)
– The striker is the first player in Juventus history to score at least 100 goals in his first 3 seasons (101)
Cristiano Ronaldo gets FIFA recognition despite sour Manchester United exit
Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo has made it onto an illustrious FIFA shortlist whilst some of the Premier League’s biggest stars also made the cut.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been recognized by FIFA for his performances in the 21/22 season with Manchester United (Image: Getty)
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named on FIFA’s 26-man shortlist for the FIFPro team of the year.
Ronaldo called time on his second spell at Manchester United last year and has since signed for Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr.
His performances for the Reds during the 2021/22 season have seemingly caught the eye of panelists, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo also making the cut. England midfielder Jude Bellingham – who has been linked with both United and City – is also included.
Ronaldo hit 24 goals in 39 games for United last season, whilst delivering some stand-out performances in the UEFA Champions League that saw the club reach the knockout stages of the competition.
Whilst his international endeavors didn’t go to plan with Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, the former Real Madrid striker still showed his talents on the world stage before he opted to swap Manchester for the Middle East after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan saw United cut ties with the 38-year-old.
Lionel Messi remains a favourite to scoop multiple football awards for his efforts with Argentina later this year, whilst Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski also enjoyed stellar years and could push Ronaldo out of the FIFpro starting XI.
The full list of nominees for the FIFPro team of the year as follows:
Goalkeepers
Alisson Becker (Liverpool, Brazil)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Defenders
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/Bayern Munich, Portugal)
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, Canada)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
Theo Hernandez (AC Milan, France)
Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid, Germany)
Thiago Silva (Chelsea, Brazil)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, England)
Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United, Brazil)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Enzo Fernandez (River Plate/Benfica/Chelsea, Argentina)
Gavi (Barcelona, Spain)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Spain)
Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona, Poland)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Source: dailytrust.com; manchestereveningnews.co.uk
