Career of Cristiano Ronaldo

In recognition of his record-breaking goalscoring success, Ronaldo received special awards for Outstanding Career Achievement by FIFA in 2021 and Champions League All-Time Top Scorer by UEFA in 2024.

[10] In October 2002, Juventus scout Gianni Di Marzio, one of the club's 23 ones, presented Ronaldo's profile to executive Luciano Moggi who prepared a €2.5 million offer for Sporting CP, including Marcelo Salas in exchange.

Ronaldo's move to Manchester United was completed on 12 August 2003, too late for the 2003 FA Community Shield but in time for their game against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2003–04 season, and made him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club.

[26] The British press had been critical of Ronaldo during the season for his "elaborate" step-overs in trying to beat opponents,[27] but teammate Gary Neville said he was "not a show pony, but the real thing", and predicted he would become a world-class player.

[31][32] He played the full 120 minutes of the 2005 FA Cup Final against Arsenal, which ended in a goalless draw; although Ronaldo scored his attempt in the penalty shoot-out, United lost 5–4.

[40] Although his World Cup altercation with Rooney resulted in Ronaldo being booed throughout the 2006–07 season,[41] it proved to be his break-out year, as he broke the 20-goal barrier for the first time and won his first Premier League title.

An important factor in this success was his one-to-one training by first-team coach René Meulensteen, who taught him to make himself more unpredictable, improve his teamwork, call for the ball and capitalise on goalscoring opportunities rather than waiting for the chance to score the aesthetically pleasing goals for which he was already known.

[118] He finished as runner-up to Messi for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, after scoring hat-tricks against Real Zaragoza, Rayo Vallecano, Málaga, Osasuna and Sevilla, the last of which put Madrid on top of the league by the season's midway point.

[149] Concurrently with his individual achievements, Ronaldo enjoyed his greatest team success in Spain to date, as he helped Madrid win La Décima, their tenth European Cup.

[164][165] After winning the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup,[166] Ronaldo received the 2014 Ballon d'Or,[167] joining Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten as a three-time recipient.

[note 1] Ronaldo also became the all-time top scorer in the Champions League with a hat-trick in the first group match against Shakhtar Donetsk, having finished the previous season level with Messi on 77 goals.

[184] Ronaldo missed Madrid's first three matches of the 2016–17 season, including the 2016 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, as he continued to rehabilitate the knee injury he suffered against France in the Euro 2016 final.

Described as a "PlayStation goal" by Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli, with Ronaldo's foot approximately 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) off the ground, it garnered him a standing ovation from the opposing fans in the stadium as well as a plethora of plaudits from peers, pundits and coaches.

[215] Upon signing, Ronaldo cited his need for a new challenge as his rationale for departing Madrid,[216] but later attributed the transfer to the lack of support he felt was shown by club president Florentino Pérez.

[225] On 12 March, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win against Atlético in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, helping Juventus overcome a two-goal deficit to reach the quarter-finals.

[265] On 26 August, Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City over personal terms,[266] but the club pulled out of the deal the following day due to the overall cost of the transfer.

[315] Ronaldo was due to appear in a match against Al-Tai on 5 January 2023, but had to serve a two-match ban incurred while he was still at Manchester United for knocking a phone out of a 14-year-old Everton fan's hand after a 1–0 loss at Goodison Park in April 2022.

[317] He made his debut for Al-Nassr on 22 January, as club captain, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 win over Al-Ettifaq,[318] and scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against Al-Fateh by converting a last-minute penalty.

[325] In the next Arab Club Champions Cup fixture on 3 August, Ronaldo scored a late equaliser against Zamalek, to help his side secure a 1–1 draw and qualify for the quarter-finals in second place of their group.

[326] In the semi-finals on 9 August, Ronaldo scored the only goal of a win over Al-Shorta, converting a penalty to help Al Nassr reach their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup final.

[350] On 31 May, in a 5–4 penalty shoot-out defeat to Al-Hilal in the 2024 King Cup final following a 1–1 draw after extra-time (in which he scored his side's second spot kick), he equalled Rogério Ceni's record for most top-level matches by a male professional footballer (1,225).

[359] He was subsequently called up for UEFA Euro 2004, held in his home country, and scored his first international goal in a 2–1 group stage loss to eventual champions Greece, his eighth appearance for Portugal.

[368] FIFA's Technical Study Group overlooked him for the tournament's Best Young Player award and handed it to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing his behaviour as a factor in the decision.

[379] Ronaldo failed to score a single goal in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup,[359] as Portugal narrowly avoided a premature elimination from the tournament with a play-off victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[359] In Portugal's first knockout match, Ronaldo's only attempt on goal was parried by Croatia's goalkeeper Danijel Subašić into the path of Ricardo Quaresma, whose finish then secured a 1–0 win late in extra time.

[417][418] Following the Euro 2016 success, Ronaldo played his first professional match on his home island of Madeira on 28 March 2017 at age 32, opening a 2–3 friendly defeat to Sweden at the Estádio dos Barreiros.

[426] On 31 August 2017, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win in a 2018 World Cup qualifying match over the Faroe Islands, which saw him overtake Pelé and equal Hussein Saeed as the joint-fifth-highest goalscorer in international football with 78 goals.

[442] On 8 September 2020, Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st international goals in a 2–0 away win over Sweden in a 2020–21 UEFA Nations League match, becoming only the second male player ever to achieve this milestone (after Ali Daei of Iran) and the first in Europe.

[454] On 1 September, Ronaldo scored two headed goals, with his second coming seconds before the full-time whistle, in a 2–1 home win against the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier at the Estádio Algarve, which were originally believed to have seen him break Ali Daei's men's international scoring record with his 110th and 111th international goals,[455] receiving the Guinness World Records Certificate on that same day with the tally of 111;[456] however, in 2021, FIFA revised Daei's tally down to 108, which meant he had broken it at the Euros, but the news about this change only broke out years later.

[468][469] Following the World Cup, despite having his future with the national team in doubt, after rumours of a possible omission by new manager Roberto Martínez, Ronaldo was named in Portugal's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.