Cristiano Ronaldo: a champion and also charitable

I learned about this person from my children.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, son of Maria Dolores dos Santos and José Dinis Aveiro; born on 5 February 1985 in Funchal (the capital of the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira).

Born into a poor family, he spent most of his time playing football in his neighbourhood of Santo António. At the age of 11, he joined the Sporting Portugal club in Lisbon.

Cristiano Ronaldo is very attached to his mother, even after all his success, and on this subject the international player once told journalists: ‘My mother grew up sacrificing her life for me, she slept hungry so that at night I could eat. We have no money at all. She worked 7 days a week and at night as a cleaner to buy my first booty so I could be a player. All my success is dedicated to her. And as long as she has my life, she'll always be by my side, having everything I can give her. She is my refuge and my greatest gift.’ 

 As for her father, because of his alcoholism, he died on 7 September 2005 as a result of a liver tumor.

In this article, we take a closer look at the ‘human’ side of this player; in fact, this ‘Portuguese’ was named The World's Most Generous Sportsman by ‘Do SOMETHING’, an American non-profit association. What an honor it is to be rewarded for this striker's acts of charity, and what a striker he is, given that CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo's nickname) reached the 900-goal mark in his career in September 2024, when Portugal beat Croatia (2-1) in the Nations League, making him the top scorer in the history of football according to the (FIFA).

 This legendary champion has remained true to his origins, noting that despite his glittering fame and wealth in excess of a billion dollars, Ronaldo has not forgotten his past when he was poor, and he was not at all ashamed to talk about it when he was a 12-year-old child, going into a restaurant and eating the leftovers of customers because he didn't have enough money to buy the food he wanted.

Ronaldo stands out for the fact that he does not reject the vast majority of fans who cross the security barriers in stadiums to greet him at close quarters or to kiss him, but that he sometimes defends them against the brutality of the security staff.

The cameras have recorded numerous situations in which Ronaldo has saved fans from the harsh treatment of security staff when those fans tried to infiltrate the stadium. He is also keen to interact constantly with fans inside stadiums, often staying to throw his shirt to them. He's always there, signing autographs and taking photos.

Ronaldo is considered to be the most prominent sports star when it comes to charity work, as he preferred (in late 2012) to sell the European Golden Boot he won in 2011 after scoring 40 goals for Real Madrid for charity, and it was sold at a charity auction for the huge sum of $1.6. Million, which went towards building a number of schools in Gaza. It was one of the humanitarian gestures that sent its shares soaring in the Arab world, which sympathies with the Palestinian cause, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Mrs MAMCHAOUI Djazila wife HAMIMED