Cristiano Ronaldo at 40 years old: 40 moments that define a legendary career
Looking at some of the highlights for Funchal's finest in an unbelievable career
Cristiano Ronaldo has turned 40 years old. The Portuguese superstar celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday and as you would expect, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
From his early days in Madeira to Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr and the Portuguese national team, here are 40 key moments which help to define a legendary career…
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in Madeira on February 5th, 1985. Son of María Dolores and José Dinis, he was an unplanned child and his parents considered an abortion.
Young Cristiano was obsessed with football and was out late on the streets of Santo António in Funchal, kicking the ball against a concrete wall to hone his talents. His father Dinis was a kitman at local club Andorinha and took him along to play for his first team at the age of seven.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s ID card of the local football association in Funchal, Madeira (Picture: GREGORIO CUNHA/AFP) Word soon spread around the island that there was a special talent and Ronaldo was signed by CD Nacional for 20 footballs and a set of kits for the youth team.
At the age of 12, Cristiano travelled to Lisbon for a trial with Sporting CP. Coaches were concerned by the scrawny player they saw before them, but were blown away by his talent. A debt of around €20,000 owed by Nacional to Sporting was pardoned by the Lisbon club and Ronaldo was on his way to the capital.
On August 14th, 2002, Cristiano made his professional debut in a Champions League qualifier against Inter.
Four days later, he was an unused substitute as Sporting beat Leixões 5-1 to win the Portuguese Super Cup (the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira). It was his first career trophy and his only one with the Lisbon club.
Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Sporting CP on his professional debut against Inter in 2002 (Picture: Getty Images via UEFA) Ronaldo scored his first goals for Sporting on October 7th, 2002, netting twice in a 3-0 win over Moreirense.
The young winger starred in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United as Sporting inaugurated their new José Alvalade stadium. United players urged the club to sign him up, but a deal had already been agreed. He had been due to stay on loan at Sporting, but his impressive display brought about a change of plans.
Ronaldo joined United in a £12 million deal on August 12th, 2003 and made his debut four days later in a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers, wearing the famous number 7 shirt. Club legend George Best described his display as “undoubtedly the most exciting debut” he had seen at United.
Cristiano’s first United goal was a free-kick against Portsmouth on November 1st, as the Red Devils won 3-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with his shirt off after scoring for Manchester United against Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup final (Picture: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP) The Portuguese opened the scoring as United beat Millwall 3-0 to win the FA Cup final in May 2004. It was his first trophy in English football.
But there was disappointment later in the summer as Ronaldo and Portugal lost to Greece in the final of Euro 2004. The winger, who had made his international debut the previous year, was inconsolable.
He had to wait for his first Premier League crown too, but ended up winning a first of three titles in 2006/07.
Ronaldo’s 2007-08 season saw a big step up in terms of goals. He hit 42 in all competitions as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side won the Premier League and the Champions League. Those included United’s goal in the Champions League final against Chelsea and although he missed his penalty in the shootout, the Red Devils went on to win after John Terry slipped and hit the post with his spot-kick.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Manchester United against Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final (Picture: John Peters/Manchester United) That impressive form saw the Portuguese win the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
United won the Premier League in 2008/09 and reached the Champions League final again that season, but the Red Devils were outclassed by Barcelona and Lionel Messi in Rome.
After intense speculation which had been dragging on for a couple of years, Ronaldo decided it was time to take the next step and he signed for Real Madrid in a deal worth £80 million (€94m) in the summer.
On July 6th, 2009, Ronaldo was presented at the Santiago Bernabéu in front of around 80,000 fans.
In his first season at Real Madrid, Ronaldo wore the number 9 because Raúl was still at the club. The Portuguese scored on his debut against Deportivo La Coruña and ended the campaign with 33 goals in 35 games, but no trophies.
Cristiano Ronaldo during his presentation as a Real Madrid player at the Santiago Bernabéu in July 2009 (Picture: Dusko Despotovic/Corbis via Getty Images) Ronaldo scored 53 goals in 54 games under José Mourinho in 2010-11 and won a first trophy at Real Madrid, heading the winner against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final at Mestalla.
In his third season at the Santiago Bernabéu, Ronaldo scored 60 goals in 55 games and 46 in La Liga as Madrid beat Barça to the title, winning a record 100 points.
The Museu CR7 opened in Madeira in December 2013, featuring Ronaldo’s trophies, hat-trick balls and more. “If the Ballon d’Or comes, there is extra room here,” he said. In January 2014, he duly won the award for a second time.
And 2014 turned out to be a memorable year as Ronaldo helped Real Madrid claim La Décima, a 10th European Cup, with a 4-1 extra-time victory over Atlético Madrid in Lisbon. Cristiano scored the fourth with a penalty. Madrid also beat Barcelona to win the Copa del Rey, although the Portuguese missed the final through injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mates celebrate their Champions League final win over Atlético in May 2014 (Picture: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Following those triumphs under Carlo Ancelotti, Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or for a third time.
Ancelotti’s second season fizzled out and the Italian lost his job. After a brief and disastrous six months under Rafa Benítez, Madrid turned to Zinédine Zidane and Los Blancos went on to win the Champions League again. Ronaldo scored the winning penalty against Atlético Madrid in the final after a 1-1 draw at San Siro.
That summer, Cristiano added another continental crown as Portugal won Euro 2016. The Real Madrid forward was forced off injured in the final, but barked orders at his team-mates from the sidelines and was back to lift the trophy after Éder’s extra-time winner against hosts France in Paris.
Later in the year, the Portuguese forward won his fourth Ballon d’Or.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with the trophy after Portugal’s win at Euro 2016 (Picture: Pressefoto Ulmer\ullstein bild via Getty Images) In 2016-17, Ronaldo scored 42 goals in 46 games as Madrid completed a Liga and European Cup double for the first time since 1958, including two in the final as Zidane’s side beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff.
Cristiano went on to win his fifth Ballon d’Or in December.
Madrid won the Champions League again in May 2018, beating Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv to complete a three-peat under Zidane. It was Ronaldo’s fifth European Cup. En route to the title, he scored a stunning overhead kick away to Juventus.
Cristiano announced his decision to leave Real Madrid after nine seasons, 15 trophies and an unbelievable 450 goals in 438 games for the club. He departed as Los Blancos’ all-time top scorer and joined Juventus in a €100 million transfer.
Playing at his fourth World Cup later that summer, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain.
The Portuguese won Serie A in his first season at Juventus and scored a hat-trick as the Bianconeri overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to knock out Atlético Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal for Juventus against AC Milan in January 2019 (Picture: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP) Cristiano captained Portugal to another title, the inaugural UEFA Nations League, with victory over the Netherlands. Ronaldo hit a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Switzerland in the semi-finals.
The Portuguese hit a club-record 37 goals in all competitions in 2019-20 as Juventus won Serie A for a ninth season in a row.
He finished as Serie A’s top scorer in his third and final season at Juve, taking his tally to over 100 goals. The Bianconeri missed out on the title, but did win the Coppa Italia.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in August 2021 and scored 24 goals in 38 games in a respectable first campaign back at Old Trafford, including a hat-trick against Tottenham. But his second season was disappointing and after publicly criticising the club and manager Erik ten Hag, his contract was rescinded by mutual consent.
With a penalty converted for Portugal against Ghana in Qatar, Ronaldo became the first man to score at five editions of the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal for Al-Nassr in August 2024 (Picture: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images) In January 2023, Ronaldo signed a huge deal with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, reportedly earning him the highest salary in football history. Later in the year, he was followed to Saudi Arabia by an array of top footballers, including Neymar, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and more.
Now part of a select group of footballers playing into his 40s, Ronaldo will continue to break records. Already the highest male scorer in international football and in the Champions League, the Portuguese has his sights on 1,000 career goals (he is on 923 currently), plus one last World Cup. What a career.
