Ronaldo: 21 things he's done off the pitch that proves he's an incredible man
The highlights of his career include league titles in England, Spain and Italy, five Champions Leagues, two international trophies and five Ballon d'Ors.
His goal record of 450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid is still hard to fathom.
But not only is Ronaldo an incredible footballer, but he's also an incredible person.
A lot of the work Cristiano does off the pitch goes unnoticed.
But The Sun have taken a look at his charitable work and listed 21 kind gestures the Portuguese superstar has performed during his career - including fighting coronavirus.
Let's take a look:
Coronavirus pay cut
Cristiano Ronaldo led the way in terms of wage cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic in March, April, May and June at Juventus - a decision that is said to cost him £3.8 million personally.
Generous donation
Ronaldo teamed up with his agent Jorge Mendes to donate £1million to hospitals in Portugal to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were contacted by Jorge Mendes, who volunteered with Cristiano Ronaldo to finance two intensive care units for critical patients suffering from COVID-19,” Daniel Ferro, president of Lisbon's Santa Maria Hospital, revealed.
“There are fans, monitors, infusion pumps, beds ... all the equipment that constitutes an intensive care unit equipped to provide care to a COVID-19 patient.”
Bonus pay
According to Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo asked the entire Portugal squad to donate 50% of their qualification bonus to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
"So we qualified to the 2020 Euros, which now is in 2021," Silva said. And he gave us the idea let's donate part of our bonus, so I think our national team, our players will donate 50 percent of our qualifying bonus.”
His European Golden Boot
After scoring 40 goals in 2011, Ronaldo claimed the European Golden Boot. But it’s not in his individual trophy cabinet because he auctioned it for £1.2million, with the funds going towards building a number of schools in war-torn Gaza.
The Ballon d’Or
Ronaldo did something similar with the 2013 Ballon d’Or trophy, where he raised £530,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
An ambassador
Ronaldo is an ambassador for three major charities - Save the Children, Unicef and World Vision.
During his 2014 Ballon d’Or speech, he mentioned the children he had met with leukaemia. In 2016, he recorded a message to the children affected by the Syrian conflict, saying they were "true heroes" and that "I am with you".
He also made a secret donation to Save the Children, which he asked them not to reveal the amount.
Win bonuses
Ronaldo is no stranger to donating his bonuses. In 2013 after being named in the UEFA Team of the Year, earning £89,000 bonus - which he donated to the Red Cross.
When he led Real Madrid to La Decima, he picked up a £450,000 bonus from the club. He decided to share it among the three charities that he’s an ambassador for.
Gives blood
Ronaldo has previously claimed he stays tattoo-free so he can give blood, which he does regularly.
Those with tattoos can donate blood but are not able to do so immediately after getting new ink to reduce the risk of infection.
In 2015, he said: "We can all make a difference by donating blood.
“Each donation can benefit up to three people in emergency situations and for long-term medical treatments... That’s why I am enthusiastic... to the importance of blood donation and to encourage people around the world to become lifelong blood donors and help save lives."
He also donates bone marrow after former teammate Carlos Martins had a son who needed it.
Multi-million pounds relief
In 2015, Ronaldo reportedly donated £5 million to Save the Children's disaster relief fund after the Nepalese earthquake. Those reports are unverified, however.
Helping a cancer centre
Ronaldo’s mother, Dolores Aveiro, survived breast cancer in 2007. And Ronaldo thanked the care centre in Portugal by donating £120,000.
Invitation to an orphan
In the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Real Madrid fan Haidar was orphaned when his parents were killed by a suicide bomber.
After hearing the story, Real Madrid invited the boy to the club and a heart-warming video emerged of Ronaldo comforting the youngster.
Helping a young fan
When Ronaldo heard the story of nine-year-old Nuhuzet Guillen, who had terminal cancer in 2009, he sent a driver to bring him and his family to the Real Madrid hotel.
After inviting him to watch a match in a private box, Ronaldo dedicated a goal to Nuhuzet and gave him his match shirt afterwards.
He then paid for experimental treatment available in the US and offered to pay for all of his medication, costing hundreds of thousands, and treatment at a private medical centre.
But after more than a year of Ronaldo’s help, Nuhuzet sadly passed away in March 2013.
Generous with his time
Many fans have sprinted towards Ronaldo during matches and he’s usually more than happy to stop and take photos, stopping security guards from dragging the supporter off the pitch.
Helping another young fan
In 2014, the mother of ten-month-old Erik Ortiz Cruz asked Ronaldo to donate a shirt to the boy, who has cortical dysplasia.
But Ronaldo went above and beyond, paying £55,000 for initial brain surgery and pledged to cover the cost of any follow-up treatment.
He also helped raise extra money by donating a signed kit to sell at auction.
Broken arm
Ronaldo broke the arm of a young Bournemouth fan during a friendly at the Vitality Stadium during Real Madrid's 6-0 win.
He responded by handing him a signed Real Madrid shirt.
In another incident, he smashed a shot into the crowd making a young boy cry - he leapt into the stand to give him his training top.
Best friend ever
His agent, Mendes, named Ronaldo as his best when during his wedding in 2015.
Ronaldo responded by buying the super-agent a whole Greek island worth around £40 million.
Invitation for Ricksen
The former Rangers player, Fernando Ricksen, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2013.
Ronaldo contacted the Dutchman to invite him to a match at the Bernabeu and presented him with his shirt in October 2016.
Super team-mate
After their 10th Champions League win, Ronaldo rewarded his teammate with personalised watches from luxury watch brand Bvlgari.
Each watch was personalised and set him back £5,000 each.
Big brother is watching
Ronaldo’s father, Denis, was an alcoholic before his death in 2005.
Cristiano’s older brother, Hugo Aveiro, appeared to be heading down the same path.
However, the superstar helped him overcome his demons, inviting him along to big events, including Ballon d’Or ceremonies.
A great tipper
After staying at the Costa Navarino resort in southern Greece in 2018 and 2019, Ronaldo left a generous £20,000 tip both times, to be shared among their ten staff.
Never forgets a kind gesture
Ronaldo revealed he was given free burgers when he was a kid, during an interview with Piers Morgan.
After Paula Leca came forward, Ronaldo offered to take her out for dinner either in Turin or Lisbon as a token of his gratitude.
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