Ronaldinho, Portuguese for "Little Ronaldo," is known in Brazil by the nickname "Gaúcho," in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called "Ronaldinho" in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and remain simply as Ronaldinho.
Prior to his move to Milan, he played for Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006 and he won the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.
- See video sports Click here: http://www.metacafe.com/topics/ronaldinho/
Biography and personal life
Ronaldinho was born in the city of Porto Alegre, capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil. His mother, Dona Miguelina de Assis, is a former salesperson who studied to become a nurse. His father, João Moreira, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with Cruzeiro). He suffered a fatal heart attack in the family swimming pool when Ronaldinho was eight. After Ronaldinho's older brother, Roberto, signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a home in the more affluent Guarujá section of Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury.
Ronaldinho's football skills began to blossom at an early age, and he was first given the nickname Ronaldinho because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches. He developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football. His first brush with the media came at the age of thirteen, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23–0 victory against a local team. Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the 1997 U-17 World Championship in Egypt, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.
Today, Roberto acts as Ronaldinho's manager, while his sister Deisi works as his press coordinator. Ronaldinho became a father for the first time on 25 February 2005, after Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes gave birth to their son, who was named João after Ronaldinho's late father.
Ronaldinho's 2005 Nike advertisement, where he is given a new pair of boots and then proceeds to juggle a football and repeatedly volley it against the crossbar of a goal and recover it without the ball touching the ground, went viral on YouTube, becoming the site's first video to reach one million views.
In 2010 during his vacations in Rio de Janeiro, where 50 Cent was on a concert, 50 Cent called Ronaldinho as a special guest for his concert where the Brazilian player danced with his characteristic big smile.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾɨʃtiˈɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985),commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo is the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest-paid football player in the world. FIFA Puskás Award, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He scored that goal from 40 yards out, against Porto in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match, while still playing for Manchester United. Ronaldo holds the distinction of being the first player to win the
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.
In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years. Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."