Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after having transferred to Real Madrid in a deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). His contract with Real Madrid is also expected to make him the highest-paid player in the world.

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

In 2008, Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.

Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff 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."