Name: Cristiano Ronaldo
Nickname: CR7, a combination of my initials and my favoured jersey number
Home ground: I captain the Portuguese national football team and play for the Italian club Juventus.
Turning point: I began to focus on my football career after being expelled from school at 14 years.
Big break: I was signed by Manchester United when I was 18 years old.
Defining experience: During my nine-season stint with Real Madrid, I became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Feather in my cap: I have scored more goals than anyone in the UEFA Champions League, won five Ballon d’Or awards, and four European Golden Shoes.
Goal ticker: I recently crossed the 750-goal mark.
Signature move: I use my famous ‘knuckleball’ technique to bamboozle the goalkeeper during free kicks.
Remarkable skills: When I jump, I generate five times the power of a cheetah and my free kick speed is comparable with a space shuttle’s launch.
Money matters: Only the third athlete in the world to ink a lifetime endorsement deal with Nike, I am one of the world’s highest paid sports stars. My legs alone are insured for millions of dollars.
Neck and neck: My rivalry with fellow footballer Lionel Messi is one of the biggest in sporting history.
Global footprint: I am the first person in the world to reach 200 million followers on Instagram.
Window to my world: There is a museum dedicated to my life, career and trophies in my hometown of Funchal in Portugal.
Exciting hobby: I own a dazzling collection of luxury cars.
Helping hand: I auctioned one of my awards and donated the proceeds to schools in Gaza.
Fun fact: Sprinter Usain Bolt, considered to be the fastest man alive, said recently that I was faster than him at that moment.
Lasting legacy: A university in Canada teaches a course on my personality as a social and cultural phenomenon.
Quote for you: “If you think you’re perfect already, then you never will be.”
