Cristiano Ronaldo is the world renowned Portuguese professional footballer who was named the greatest Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football federation. He is also considered by legions of soccer fans all over the world to be the best of all time. In addition to this, he is the first soccer player ever to earn over $1 billion dollars. So, considering the impressive accomplishments of this phenomenal athlete, we will be diving into how such a legend came to be in this Cristiano Ronaldo Success Story special.
“The Best Always Follow The Best”
– cristiano ronaldo –
They say Iron sharpens Iron, and Ronaldo himself has said, that the best always follow the best, which is why we decided to cover Cristiano Ronaldo. Because without question, he is the best. Cristiano, is a world-class athlete and a successful businessman, and his inspiring success story can teach us, guide us, and benefit us in unimaginable ways. So, with that being said, if you’re ready to discover this legend’s blueprint for success, let’s dive in to Cristiano Ronaldo’s story.
THE CRISTIANO RONALDO STORY
Early Life | Cristiano Ronaldo Success Story
Nobody starts off as a highly successful elite athlete, let alone an accomplished professional business person. We all have a beginning, a starting point. And the same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo as well.
As a child, Ronaldo shared a room with three of his siblings due to their poor financial circumstances. And although he came from household that was struggling financially, he still found time to play the sport he loved, and dream of greater things. Being born and raised in remote island known as Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, his life early on revolved around soccer.
Cristiano wasn’t born a legend, but he did something early on which most likely impacted the trajectory of his life. Despite being raised in a home that barely made ends-meet on a remote island, and despite having a father who struggled with alcoholism, Ronaldo decided at a young age to be the best in the world.
Soccer was a big deal in Madeira, as it is in most of Europe, and Cristiano absolutely loved the sport. He loved it so much, that even when they couldn’t afford a ball to play the game with, he would use bottles, or make a ball made of rags instead. But a lack of money could not stop his insatiable love for the game.
Even when people doubted his future in the sport, saying he was too skinny, Ronaldo would use their doubt as fuel and often sneak into the gym to bulk up.
Ronaldo was lighting fast, had great footwork, and loved winning. And it was this concoction of talent and his dedication to being the best, that would pave the way for his meteoric rise . A rise that saw him by the young age of 10, to be considered the best on his entire island.
The Sacrifice
Indeed, Ronaldo’s talent was noticed, and after playing for two of the island’s amateur teams, he was offered an opportunity to be groomed to play football for one of Portugal’s most well-known Football clubs.
The club was known as Sporting CP, and they had a youth academy located 600 miles across the ocean on the mainland of Portugal.
Now, this was no small matter however, as it required Cristiano to make a massive sacrifice. It is a sacrifice that not everyone would make. He had had to make the decision to leave the island of Madeira and his entire family at the young age of 11. Fortunately, he made the sacrifice, and it was one that would put him on the path to stardom.
Career and Accolades
In just six short years after leaving his hometown and his family, his talent, dedication to training, and prowess on the pitch (field), would have him become the youngest player ever to sign a contract with Europe’s most prestigious professional football league, ‘Manchester United’. And this transaction would become one of the most expensive transfer contracts to date. In 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo made history.
Since then Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to rack up accolade after accolade after accolade. Here are just a handful of his biggest accomplishments:
He’s won 5 Ballon d’Or awards, he holds the record for most goals in the UEFA Champions League and the EUFE Championship, the FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA Nations League Finals. He received the FIFA Player of The Year Award, 2 of The Best FIFA Men’s Player Awards, a FIFA Club Word Cup Golden Ball Award, 3 FIFPro World Player of the Year Awards, 5 World Soccer Player of the Year Awards, 6 Globe Soccer Awards for the Best Player of the Year, 3 Gold Onze Mondial Awards, and the Golden Foot Award.
He’s also the first person in the world to reach over 500 million social media followers, the first active team sport player to earn over $1 billion dollars,
He’s also won hundreds of other national and region awards as well, throughout his colorful professional soccer career playing for the following teams:
- Andorinha CF (1992 – 1995)
- Nacional Club (1995 – 1997)
- Sporting CP(1997 – 2002)
- Manchester United (2003 – 2009)
- Real Madrid (2009 – 2018)
- Juventis (2018 – 2021)
- Manchester United ( 2021 – 2022)
- Al Nassr (2023 – Present)
Future Career and Personal Life
Currently, Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Saudi Arabia’s All Nassr and earns a salary of $200 million dollars a year. But his ambition has not been limited to just the profession of football. He’s also a successful businessman who has a strong personal brand, and earns plenty of money as the owner of multiple hotels in Portugal, gyms throughout Europe, and a hair transplant clinic in Spain.
Cristiano has proven to be a success both on and off the field. And there is no doubt that his future both in sports and in business looks bright.
As far as his personal life goes, Cristiano has homes all over the world. He previously lived in a mansion in Turin Italy with his family, and then in Manchester, UK for a short time.
However, now that he’s playing for Al Nassr, he’s living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez since 2017. And he is the proud father of six children; Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., Bella Esmeralda, Alana Martina dos Santos Aveiro, Eva Maria Dos Santos, Mateo Ronaldo, and Angel dos Santos Aveiro.
Success Ethos | CR7 Success Story
So, now that we covered all of Cristiano Ronaldo’s accomplishments, we now want to leave you with the ethos that has driven him to achieve the massive amounts of success and fame that he currently enjoys.
As a true student of success, you know it pays to observe the words uttered by the greats. It pays to understand what they believed. Their words provide insights into the drivers of their success. And according to our research, we’ve observed Cristiano consistently uttering words that confirms the following:
He has an unmatched confidence in himself. Plus, an inspiring and clear vision of who he wants to be and where he wants to go. He has an insane work ethic and an insatiable will to win. Lastly, extremely dedicated to self-improvement.
But don’t just take our word for it, see for yourself. Here are the handful of words that Cristiano Ronaldo has uttered himself which sums up the ethos that guides his success:
“Winning – that’s the most important to me. It’s as simple as that.” – Cristiano Ronaldo
Tweet Quote
More CR7 Success Insights
If you play close enough attention to Cristiano Ronaldo’s story, it’s easy to observe exactly what it is that drives him, and helps him achieve at such a high level. The quotes above also do a good job helping you see exactly how he thinks. That said, if you’re looking for even more success insights, then you’ll want to watch this inspiring video. It’s only a few minutes long, but it will tell you everything you need to know about the mindset that drive’s much of Cr7’s success:
Video Credit via XLR8 Productivity
Conclusion
There you have it, the Cristiano Ronaldo struggle story that describes his journey from a poor kid living in a remote island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to becoming the most famous athlete in the world. We’ve uncovered the success ethos that has guided him in creating the massive success he now enjoys.
Here they are again as a recap to answer the question about how Cristiano Ronaldo became successful:
Decision | Sacrifice | Self-Confidence | Inspiring Vision | Work Ethic | An Insatiable Will to Win
If you enjoyed the success insights above, then you’ll love these Cristiano Ronaldo quotes about success as well. Surely you can gain some insights from this Cristiano Ronaldo Success Story and apply them to your life. Our hope is that by doing so, you can become the very best YOU there is.
Till next time,
STRIVE
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