Cristiano Ronaldo
Personal information
Full name	Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth	5 February 1985 (1985-02-05) (age 24)
Place of birth	Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	7
Youth career
1993–1995 1995–1997 1997–2001	Andorinha Nacional Sporting CP
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2003 2003–	Sporting CP Manchester United	025 0(3) 186 (78)
National team2
2002–2003 2003–	Portugal U-21 Portugal	002 0(1) 062 (22)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:22, 21 February 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 00:33, 14 February 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (IPA: [kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985)^[1] is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for English Premier League club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at Nacional and his successes with the team led to a move to Sporting CP 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 he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named the final's man of the match. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year^[2] and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.^[3]

Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruijff 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."^[4]