Today marks the 39th birthday of renowned Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was born on February 5, 1985.
In 2003, at the age of 16, he made his professional debut with the Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon. Fast-forward to 2024, and 21 years later, he is still ruling the football world.
With 54 goals, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner concluded 2023 as the best scorer, surpassing players like Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
Check out these amazing facts about the European champion on his 39th birthday.
- Arsenal and Liverpool’s interests
In 2003, Ronaldo made his debut in front of the world in a preseason friendly against Manchester United, who eventually signed him a few days later.Nonetheless, Liverpool and Arsenal showed a lot of interest in the Portuguese genius. The Reds boss later acknowledged that Ronaldo’s salary demands prevented them from signing him. - The Galaxy CR7
Astronomers under the direction of David Sobral found a galaxy in 2015, which they named Cosmos Redshift 7, or CR7, after Ronaldo’s initials. The galaxy was named after the Portuguese, the experts confirmed, and it wasn’t a coincidence. - University Course
In 2015, the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, a Canadian university, began providing a sociology course on Cristiano Ronaldo’s life to its students. - Airport Cristiano Ronaldo
The Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport will replace Madeira Airport, the Portuguese government announced in 2016. - Proceeds go to charity from the sale of the Ballon d’Or
Because of his commitment to blood donation and social work initiatives, Ronaldo is among the very few football players in the world who is neither a drinker nor has a tattoo. In the same vein, he is a renowned philanthropist. In order to raise a staggering £600,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Portuguese auctioned a duplicate of one of their Ballon d’Or awards in 2017. - Aside from that, Ronaldo leads the group with 205 caps for his country and 128 goals for Portugal. In the UEFA Champions League, he leads all scorers with 140 goals.
- Ronaldo has represented some of the biggest teams in the world, including Juventus, Real Madrid, and Manchester United.
