The only trophy missing from his achievements, the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo born 5 February 1985 is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards, the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 25 trophies in his career, including five league titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. Both a prolific goalscorer and playmaker, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in Europe’s top-five leagues (395), the UEFA Champions League (120), the UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (8). He has scored over 650 senior career goals for club and country.
Born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15. He underwent an operation to treat his condition, and began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United at age 18 in 2003. After winning his first trophy, the FA Cup, during his first season in England, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and a FIFA Club World Cup. By age 22, he had received Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations and at age 23, he won his first Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the most expensive association football transfer[note 3] when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).
In Spain, Ronaldo has won 14 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. After joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d’Or in 2013 and 2014. Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer, Ronaldo has scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season[note 4] and is the only player to reach 30 league goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons. Ronaldo won back-to-back Ballons d’Or for a second time, winning by a record voting margin in 2016 after sealing La Undécima, Madrid’s 11th European title, and winning Euro 2016, and in 2017 after firing Madrid to the first back-to-back UEFA Champions League victory in history.
