Cristiano Ronaldo

50 Top Soccer Player their trade today, based on a combination of current form, potential and overall ability.  Ranking  determined by a panel of contributors to ESPN's soccer.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Rank Player 2

Profile
Birth name                   Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Birth date                     February 5, 1985
Birth place                   Funchal (Madeira island, Portugal
Nationality                   Portuguese
Height                         1.84m
Weight                        78.00kg
Zodiac Sign                 Aquarius
Club Team                  Real Madrid
Position                       Midfielder


Career
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Clube de Futebol Andorinha de Santo António, where he played for two years, before moving to Clube Desportivo Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003.

Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in a season in the history of Real Madrid with 53 goals, surpassing the club's previous high of 49 by Ferenc Puskás. Six days later, Ronaldo broke the record of most goals ever scored in a season in La Liga with 40, surpassing Telmo Zarra's mark established in 1951 (38 goals) and Hugo Sánchez's mark established in 1990 (38 goals). Ronaldo also broke Zarra's record of most goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. The newspaper Marca, the official deliverer of the Pichichi Trophy (the top La Liga goalscorer award), claimed that Ronaldo scored 41 goals (Marca assigned one more goal to Ronaldo than La Liga, which attributed it to Pepe). By doing so, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different championships. He was third in the 2010-11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, behind Lionel Messi and Xavi, and second in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, behind Messi and ahead of Xavi.

Scouting thumbnail
Explosive, pacy and an astonishingly prolific goal scorer for a winger. Specializes in long-range free kicks and shows the ability to shoot from anywhere.