Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, or simply Cristiano Ronaldo, is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers to ever walk the planet.

Born on February 5, 1985, in Madeira, Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo hailed from a poor family and was the youngest of four siblings. His mother worked as a cook and cleaner while his father was a gardener.

Cristiano Ronaldo, from a young age, chose to pursue football as a career and started playing for local team Andorinha, where his father worked as a part-time kit man.

After three years with Andorinha and two more with Nacional, Cristiano Ronaldo was signed up by Sporting CP, one of the biggest clubs in Portugal, in 1997 after impressing during a trial with the Lisbon-based team.

Ronaldo had to move to Lisbon away from his family in Madeira to continue his development with Sporting’s youth system. At the age of 15, Ronaldo had to undergo surgery to correct racing heart.

The condition is a form of tachycardia which implies that someone’s resting heart rate was faster than normal. The issue could have ended Ronaldo’s football career permanently but the surgery was successful and there was no looking back.