One of the best players of his generation, Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his 36th birthday on February 5, 2021 (Friday). Born in Madeira, Funchal, the Portuguese has established himself as one of the greats to ever play the game and is one of the decorated footballers of all-time with numerous individual and collective honours. So as the Juventus star turns a year older, we take a look at some interesting facts about him. Cristiano Ronaldo Birthday Special: Most UCL Goals and Other Records Held by CR7.

The Portuguese came through the youth academy of Sporting CP and played for the first team before earning a move to English giants Manchester United, where he cemented himself as one of the world’s best. Next came a world-record transfer to Real Madrid, where the Portuguese won the majority of his individual and team trophies. After nine years in Madrid, Ronaldo moved to Juventus in 2018 and once again broke several records in Italy winning the league title twice.

Interesting Facts About Cristiano Ronaldo

  • Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Funchal, Portugal to Jose Dinis Aveiro and Maria on February 05, 1985

  • Ronaldo started his football career by playing for Andorinha where his father was the kit man

  • As a child, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart condition and had to undergo surgery

  • Manchester United paid Sporting CP £12.24 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, which was a record transfer fee for a player his age at that time

  • Cristiano Ronaldo was the first-ever Portuguese player to sign for Manchester United

  • At 33 years and 130 days, Ronaldo is the oldest player ever to score a World Cup Hat-trick

  • Cristiano Ronaldo is scored more goals than any other player in UEFA Champions League history

  • He has won five Champions League titles, which is the second-most by any player

  • Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading goal-scorer for Real Madrid and Portugal

  • In February 2021, he became the player to score most official goals in football

Cristiano Ronaldo has played over 1000 games in his career and is one of the greatest goal-scorers in the history of the game. The Portuguese recently tipped the likes of Josef Bican and Pele to record the most official goals and is also only the second European player to score a century of goals at the international level.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2021 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).