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Name Cristiano Ronaldo
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Real Madrid | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1995 | Andorinha | ||
| 1995–1997 | Nacional | ||
| 1997–2002 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2003 | Sporting CP | 25 | (3) |
| 2003–2009 | Manchester United | 196 | (84) |
| 2009– | Real Madrid | 165 | (177) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001 | Portugal U15 | 9 | (7) |
| 2001–2002 | Portugal U17 | 7 | (5) |
| 2003 | Portugal U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Portugal U21 | 10 | (3) |
| 2004 | Portugal U23 | 3 | (2) |
| 2003– | Portugal | 111 | (49) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:01, 7 May 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro OIH (born 5 February 1985) known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and captains the Portugal national team. He became the most expensive footballer in history when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). Ronaldos contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for 2 years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million) in 2003. In 2004, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all 4 main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008 and 2013, he won the FIFA/Ballon dOr award for the best footballer in the world, the first Portuguese player to win the award twice. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in 2008, 2011 and 2014. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze dOr. In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. In a 2014 UEFA poll, Ronaldo was named the greatest goalscorer to play in the UEFA Champions League. He is the competitions second top goalscorer of all time with 68 goals, only trailing Raúl with three more.
Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach 100 league goals, and the first player to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. He holds the record for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th career goal. After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of long-serving striker Raúl. Ronaldo had previously worn the number 7 shirt at Manchester United.
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut in August 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is Portugals top goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in 5 major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008 and captained them to the Euro 2012 semi-finals finishing the competition as joint-top scorer.
Early life
Ronaldo was born in Santo António, a neighbourhood of Funchal, Madeira, the youngest child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook, and José Dinis Aveiro, a municipal gardener. His second given name "Ronaldo" was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who was his fathers favourite actor. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His great-grandmother Isabel da Piedade was from Cape Verde.
The family was staunchly Catholic and Ronaldo later claimed that he lived in poverty, sharing a room with his brother and sisters. Ronaldo was popular with other students at school, but he was expelled after he threw a chair at his teacher. Ronaldo later said of the incident: "He disrespected me." At the age of 14, Ronaldo agreed with his mother to then focus entirely on football.
Club career
Early career:
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man. In 1995, Ronaldo signed with local club Nacional, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.
Sporting CP:
Ronaldo joined Sportings other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the clubs football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sportings under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season. He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.
At the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldos mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.
In November 2002, Ronaldo was invited to Arsenals training ground, London Colney to meet manager Arsène Wenger and his coaching staff. Wenger, who was interested in signing the midfielder, had arranged to meet Ronaldos representatives, Formation (who suggested the player originally to Gérard Houllier, then Liverpools manager and Joan Laporta, then Barcelonas president) in the subsequent months to discuss a transfer arrangement. However he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldos performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him. In April 2013, Sporting honoured Ronaldo by selecting him to become the 100,000th member of the club.
Manchester United 2003–2006
Ronaldo became Manchester Uniteds first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million (£12.24 million) after the 2002–03 season. He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as Johnny Berry, George Best, Steve Coppell, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham, and subsequently worn by Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number Id like. I said 28. But Ferguson said No, youre going to have No. 7, and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in Uniteds 3–0 FA Cup final victory over Millwall.
He scored Uniteds 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough. He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
He was sent off in the Manchester derby at the City of Manchester Stadium on 14 January 2006 (a game which United lost 3–1) for kicking Citys former United player Andrew Cole. Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football in the 2005–06 season, scoring the third goal in Manchester Uniteds 4–0 Football League Cup final victory over Wigan Athletic.
2006–07 season
The 2006–2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United. An important factor in this success was his one-to-one training by first team coach René Meulensteen. Meulensteen coached him in moves to make himself more unpredictable. He also helped him to work better with his team-mates, calling for the ball and scoring more ugly goals instead of waiting for the special occasion when he could score the beautiful goals for which he was already famous.
In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996. He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo, he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.
Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour.[39] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans Player of the Year. He also won the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
2007–08 season :
Ronaldos 2007–08 season began with a red card for a headbutt on Portsmouth player Richard Hughes during Uniteds second match of the season, for which he was punished with a three-match ban. Ronaldo said he had "learned a lot" from the experience and would not let players "provoke" him in the future. After scoring the only goal in a Champions League away match against Sporting, Ronaldo also scored the injury-time winner in the return fixture as Manchester United topped their Champions League group.
He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon dOr, and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo scored his first hat-trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.[45] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.[46] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Ronaldo and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA. One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.
On 19 March 2008, Ronaldo captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory. The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Bests forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.[50] Ronaldo scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Ronaldos scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorcas Dani Güiza.
2008–09 season
On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Ronaldo had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.[54] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrids alleged pursuit of Ronaldo, but FIFA declined to take any action. Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Ronaldo confirmed that he would stay at United for at least another year.
Ronaldo underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July. He returned to action on 17 September in Uniteds goalless UEFA Champions League group stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung,and scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.
In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks. The goals also meant that Ronaldo had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time. On 2 December, Ronaldo became Manchester Uniteds first Ballon dOr recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi. He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the Club World Cup on 19 December.
On 8 January 2009, Ronaldo was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the A538 near Manchester Airport. A breathalyser test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.[64] Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001.
Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals.[66] In the second leg against Porto, Ronaldo scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. For this goal Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the first player to win the FIFA Puskás Award, in 2009, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored.[68][69] Ronaldo participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but made little impact in Uniteds 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season.
On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Ronaldo after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club. It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson. When Ronaldo had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, "Hes been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career."
Real Madrid 2009–10 season
On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€94 million) becoming the most expensive footballer in history, after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract. Ronaldos contract is worth €11 million per year and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause. He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July, where he was handed the number 9 jersey. The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano.Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradonas record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984. The event was broadcast live on the Spanish and Portuguese public TV stations, RTVE and RTP respectively.
whatAlex Ferguson said after Ronaldos transfer to Real Madrid-
"I havenothing but praise for the boy. He is easily the best player in the world. Hiscontribution as a goal threat is unbelievable. His stats are incredible.Strikes at goal, attempts on goal, raids into the penalty box, headers. It isall there. Absolutely astounding"
Ronaldo made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came a week later with a penalty in Madrids 4–2 win over LDU Quito. On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Reals second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña. On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real. He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary, kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrids Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career during Reals 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.
Ronaldo was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon dOr award. On 5 May 2010, Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Although his first season at Real Madrid ended trophyless, Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Reals highest scoring league duo in their history.
2010–11 season
With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the number 7 jersey for Real Madrid. On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against Racing de Santander, the most goals he has ever scored in a single match.This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and two for Portugal) in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the most Ronaldo has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrids 5–0 defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over Athletic Bilbao.His final match of the calendar year saw him score a hat-trick in an 8–0 trashing of Levante in the Copa del Rey.
International career
Ronaldo earned his first cap for Portugal in a 1–0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2003.
Euro 2004 and 2004 Summer Olympics
Ronaldo was called up for Euro 2004 scoring his first international goal in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece and scoring again in a 2–1 semi-final win over the Netherlands. He was featured in the UEFA Euro All-Star Team of this competition, providing two assists despite finishing with only two goals.
Ronaldo also represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, scoring a goal in the tournament, although the Portuguese Olympic football squad was eliminated in the first round, finishing bottom of their group with three points.
2006 World Cup
Ronaldo was the second-highest scorer in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in the European zone with seven goals, and scored his first World Cup goal against Iran (2-0) with a penalty kick in Portugals second match in the group stage.
During a quarter-final match against England on 1 July 2006, Ronaldos United teammate Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho. The English media speculated that Ronaldo had influenced referee Horacio Elizondos decision by aggressively complaining, after which he was seen in replays winking at the Portuguese bench following Rooneys dismissal. After the match, Ronaldo insisted that Rooney was a friend and that he was not pushing for Rooney to be sent off. On 4 July, Elizondo clarified that the red card was due to Rooneys infraction and not the fracas between Rooney and Ronaldo that followed.
The angry reaction from the English press caused Ronaldo to consider leaving United, and he allegedly told Spanish sports daily Marca that he wished to move to Real Madrid. In response to the speculation, Ferguson sent Portuguese assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to speak to Ronaldo in attempt to change his mind, a sentiment that was shared by Rooney. Ronaldo stayed, and signed his new five-year extension in April 2007.
Ronaldo was booed during Portugals semi-final defeat to France (0-1), and missed out on the competitions Best Young Player award due to a negative e-mail campaign from England fans. Though the online vote only affected the nomination process, FIFAs Technical Study Group awarded the honour to Germanys Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldos behaviour as a factor in the decision.
Post-World Cup
One day after his 22nd birthday, Ronaldo captained Portugal for the first time in a friendly against Brazil on 6 February 2007. This move was in honour of Portuguese Football Federation president Carlos Silva, who had died two days earlier. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari explained, "Mr. Silva asked me to make [Ronaldo] captain as a gesture... [he] is too young to be captain, but Mr. Silva asked me, and now he is no longer with us."
Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup
Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugals UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, behind Polands Ebi Smolarek, but finished with only one goal in the tournament. When Portugals squad for the tournament was announced, Ronaldo was given the number 7 shirt for the first time in a major tournament.He was named man of the match in the group match against the Czech Republic (3-1). Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals with a 3–2 loss against eventual finalists Germany.
After Portugals unsuccessful performance in the European Championship, Luiz Felipe Scolari was replaced as Portugal coach with Carlos Queiroz.In July 2008, Queiroz named Ronaldo as the new permanent captain of the Portugal national team.
Fig: Ronaldo was made full-time captain of Portugal after the UEFA Euro 2008.
On 15 June 2010, in Portugals opening 2010 World Cup match against Côte dIvoire, Ronaldo was tackled by right-back Guy Demel, which led to an argument and both being booked. The next day, Portugal contacted FIFA to suggest that Ronaldos yellow card be rescinded since he was "pulled into" the confrontation after having already moved away from the spot where he was tackled, but the appeal was rejected.
Ronaldo was named man of the match in all three of Portugals group matches against Côte dIvoire (0-0), North Korea (7-0) and Brazil (0-0). His only goal of the tournament came in Portugals 7–0 group stage thrashing of North Korea on 21 June, which marked his first international goal in 16 months.The World Cup ended for Portugal with a 1–0 loss against eventual champions Spain in the Round of 16.
Euro 2012
what Diego Maradona said on Ronaldos opportunity to take Portugal to thefinal-
"In the form he is in, given the chance, he willscore. Cristiano wants to bring his team to the final and show why he should beconsidered the best player in the world"
Ronaldo scored seven goals in Portugals UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, including two strikes against Bosnia in the play-offs for the tournament, and finished behind Germanys Miroslav Klose and the Netherlands Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (not including the play-offs round). Portugal were drawn in Group B with Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, which was widely referred to as the "group of death" of the tournament. In an interview with Kicker Magazine, Ronaldo stated that: "I will only be fully content with my career when I have lifted a trophy with Portugal."
After the opening 0–1 defeat against Germany, Ronaldo was criticised for under performing, showing frustration at his and his team-mates errors and for walking off into the changing-rooms straight after the match, rather than thanking the crowd with the team. Ronaldos team-mate, Nani, later defended him, stating that he had left the pitch as he needed to instantly be treated for a possible injury, also adding that he was under excessive pressure, as football is a team sport.
During the group stage match between Denmark and Portugal (3-2 win), the Denmark fans chanted Lionel Messis name whenever Ronaldo was on the ball. Ronaldo squandered two gilt-edged one-on-one chances, and Ronaldo looked frustrated and tormented throughout. Asked about the Messi chants, Ronaldo responded irritatedly: "You know where he was at this time last year? Do you know? He was being eliminated in the Copa America, in his own country. I think thats worse, no? And people say that he is the best player in the world. This sort of thing is normal for great players."
In the final group match between Portugal and the Netherlands, Ronaldo silenced his critics by scored two goals to secure a 2–1 victory for Portugal, allowing the team to advance to the quarterfinals.
Ronaldo was further praised for his performance against the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals, where he darted in from behind his marker in the 79th minute and headed a cross from Joao Moutinho, sending Portugal into the semifinals with a 1–0 victory. After scoring the winning goal, he ran to the camera and chanted "para ti" as he had dedicated the goal to his son.
In the semi-final against Spain, Ronaldo had several chances, but he sent three shots over the bar.His best chance came in the 90th minute, but shot the ball high and wide. The match ended with penalties, but Ronaldo did not take a penalty in the shootout as he had been slated to take the fifth one, but it never got that far. The Portugal coach, Paulo Bento, knocked back criticism of Ronaldo not being employed earlier in the shootout: "Well we had this plan and if it would have been 4–4 and he would have taken the last penalty we would talk in a different way."
Before and throughout the tournament, Ronaldo was particularly hailed by Argentine great Diego Maradona, who described Ronaldo as "the best player on the planet" and went on to say that "[Ronaldo] has shown his countrymen that he does deserve a monument in Lisbon." Ronaldo was included in the UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament, the second time after 2004, and finished the competition as the joint-top goalscorer with three goals, along with five other players, although Spains Fernando Torres took the Golden Boot. Though there was no third place playoff, UEFA decided for the first time to award both of the semi-final losers bronze medals.
2014 World Cup cycle
On 17 October 2012, Ronaldo won his 100th cap for the Portugal national team in a World Cup qualification match against Northern Ireland (1-1) at Portos Estádio do Dragão. He became the third youngest European ever to reach that figure in the process, after Germanys Lukas Podolski and Estonias Kristen Viikmäe.
On 14 August 2013, Ronaldo scored his 40th goal for Portugal in a 1–1 friendly draw against the Netherlands. On 6 September 2013, Ronaldo netted his first international hat-trick in a 15-minute spell in the second half at Windsor Park against Northern Ireland (4-2) in a World Cup qualification match to become Portugals second-highest scorer ahead of Eusébio. With his goals against Northern Ireland, Ronaldo also established a personal record, since it was the first time that he scored in three consecutive matches with Portugal.
Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugals FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign, including all four of the teams goals in the two-legged play-off against Sweden which ensured Portugals place at the finals.His hat-trick in the second-leg made him tied for Portugals all-time top goalscorer after equalling Pauletas record tally of 47 international goals.
On 5 March 2014, Ronaldo netted twice in Portugals 5-1 friendly win over Cameroon to take his tally to 49 goals, thus becoming his countrys all-time leading goalscorer.
Fig : Ronaldo with Lionel Messi before an international friendly between Portugal and Argentina in Geneva, Switzerland, on 9 February 2011.
Ronaldo 17Goals World Record.....
CristianoRonaldo vs Luis Suarez ? Top 10 Goals Battle ? 2013-20
beloware the top 50 goals of the legend -
Gallery
