The LEGACY of CR7

The most famous athlete in the world currently as well as previous years has been Cristiano Ronaldo⚽🇵🇹. Ronaldo is also the most followed sportsperson on Facebook.
His initials CR7 is used for marketing purposes. Fame,Goals⚽⚽⚽,individual awards,global branding,field evading fans,Spanish tax allegations, controversies and flamboyant lifestyle has been associated with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo grew up in small island of Funchal,Madeira, Portugal. He loved football especially scoring goals. As a little boy,he was always on the street playing either alone or with other kids. His mother called him a *cry baby👶* during his young days because Ronaldo cried a lot when his team lost a match always claiming the world was against him😂.

He lived with his father,mother and older siblings in a small impoverished house. His father later died of Alcohol liver-related condition. 

By age 16,Cristiano Ronaldo was in the first team of Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon after dumping school. It was reported Ronaldo threw a chair at his teacher. 

At Lisbon,Ronaldo was a very fast and skillful winger. During a friendly match against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Ronaldo stole the show and was instantly urged by Manchester United players to Ferguson for the Portuguese’s signature. Ronaldo joined the Red devils at age 18,he spent 6 years under Legend Manager Ferguson and United rose to global dominance in World Football winning both domestic and International trophies. Cristiano Ronaldo at United announced himself to the world. Ronaldo had lightening speed,skills,techniques and goal threat in or out of the post. Also a free kick specialist and lethal header of the ball as well as high shot power. This was the beginning of Cristiano Ronaldo’s illustrious career. 

Ronaldo won numerous individual awards at Old Trafford. His presence made fans forget free kick specialist David Beckham. Sir Alex Ferguson has been credited many times to the success of the Portugal Captain but Ferguson himself said: Ronaldo is successful today as a result of his consistent hard work and never-giving-up attitude. We at United only gave him the tools to succeed.

After Ronaldo won his first Ballon D’or at United. He felt it was time for a bigger challenge. His dream has always been to become *the greatest footballer of all time* and what other way of achieving his dream than joining Spanish giants Real Madrid. His transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid made Cristiano Ronaldo the most expensive Footballer of that time. Ronaldo was becoming a brand name.

At Madrid,Ronaldo was welcomed by over 80,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu. The rest is history. Goals upon goals. Ronaldo scored over 450 goals(including 34 hat tricks) in his 9 years playing for Los Blancos,that’s averaging 50+ goals per season. Ronaldo became a goalscoring machine. Scoring goals week in week out until he broke Raul’s record automatically becoming Real Madrid’s all time leading goalscorer. 

Messi might dazzle the world with his dribbles,goals and ball movement but Ronaldo’s goal stats will for a very long time be there for the whole world to see.

Madrid was the Real deal for Ronaldo. He was a master of his craft picking up his next 4 Ballon D’ors as well as many more individual awards. He won 4 Champions League, La Liga,the Club World Cup and other domestic trophies with the Spanish giants. His favorite competition was the Uefa Champions league. El Clasico matches were always talked about worldwide when Ronaldo met with Messi on the pitch.

Next up, after Ronaldo captained Portugal to their first major International trophy: a bust statute was made of him and an airport and star in space named after him. Ronaldo also has a statute of him showing his goal celebration posture. Ronaldo received recognition from the President of Portugal for continuously projecting the image of Portugal around the globe with his achievements in football. A CR7 museum is situated in his hometown of Madeira showcasing all individual awards won by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo over the past years has been reported as the most famous and well paid footballer/athlete in the world. He has numerous brands to his name,clothing and perfume lines,soccer boots,a private jet and other merchandise.

At the 2018 World Cup,Ronaldo produced a *match performance of the tournament* against Spain scoring a hat trick in the 3-3 draw between Spain VS Portugal. The match was labelled * Ronaldo against Spain*. Let’s not forget his standout performance when he singlehandedly defeated Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden.

Since leaving Real Madrid under unhappy situations, Ronaldo joined Italian giants Juventus.

At age 33,the Portuguese Legend is still scoring goals with ease. Madrid on the other hand seem to struggle in front of goal. Juventus playing with 100% confidence at the moment knowing the winning mentality of Cristiano Ronaldo is now with them.

Here’s a funny part: Since Ronaldo left United,his no.7 shirt has been both huge and impossible for players to handle. Di Maria and Depay both failed wearing the iconic number with Sanchez struggling at the moment. Let’s hope Mariano Diaz can perform at Madrid wearing the iconic No.7 jersey.

Ronaldo is currently with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez after ending relationship with Irina shayk. With fame comes its controversies. Ronaldo is investigated concerning a 2009 rape allegation in Las Vegas hotel though the Superstar has denied it calling it *fake news*.

Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be an inspiration for young footballers like Marcus Rashford,Kylian Mbappe,Asensio and millions of people across the globe.