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FOOTBALL fans don’t know if they’re going to get Jekyll or Hyde when Cristiano Ronaldo appears in front of the cameras.
From his early days at Manchester United, then Real Madrid, before Juventus and United again – the 41-year-old has become one of the most divisive athletes in the world.
And now, the Al-Nassr ace has made headlines again to announce his retirement from the international stage.
His fans treat him with god-like admiration – some have tattoos, copy his hairstyles, even buy CR7 pants in honour of his ridiculous skill and achievement.
But for every fan, there’s a critic.
For every Piers Morgan, there’s a Roy Keane calling out his petulant behaviour and obsession with appearance and brand.
And while the entire world are aware of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s divisive antics like walking out on the Portugal team, less are watching his kindhearted work behind the scenes.
SunSport looks back on how Ronaldo’s heart has grown and grown – and that despite the sometimes outwardly grumpy persona, there’s much more to CR7.
UD Almeria, a Spanish club partly owned by Ronaldo, announced that they will donate the money from ticket sales for their game versus Tenerife to the family of Jesus de Miguel.
The 30-year-old tragically died on Tuesday morning after suffering a heavy blow during a LaLiga 2 match between Andorra and Tenerife.
Ronaldo continues to be an ambassador for major charities like Unicef and World Vision, and has spoken up for several more.
He made a point of mentioning a group of children he had met with leukemia during his 2014 Ballon d’Or speech.
In 2016, he recorded a message to the children affected by the Syrian conflict, calling them “true heroes” and stating “I am with you”.
He also made a donation which he asked Save the Children to stay top-secret.
Ronaldo’s Ice Bucket Challenge video – the viral sensation that raised hundreds of millions of pounds in 2014 – was seen by more than a hundred million people across his social media platforms.
In 2020, Ronaldo teamed up with his agent Jorge Mendes to donate £1m to hospitals in Portugal to fight the coronavirus pandemic – according to various reports.
Fans, monitors, infusion pumps and beds were shipped into hospitals in Porto and Lisbon as they attempted to cope with their ever-increasing number of Covid-19 patients.
The president of Lisbon’s Santa Maria Hospital, Daniel Ferro, pulled the curtain back on the generous act stunned at their kindness.
Saturday 14 November
Tuesday 17 November
Sunday 4 October
Thursday 1 October
Sunday 27 September
Thursday 24 September
Who needs another Golden Boot? Not Ronaldo.
In 2011, Ronaldo was awarded the European Golden Boot after scoring 40 goals under Jose Mourinho.
Los Blancos only finished second in LaLiga and crashed out in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
But rather than cramming it in the trophy cabinet, Ronaldo sent it to auction where it raised £1.2m to build schools in war-torn Gaza.
The 41-year-old is remarkably tattoo-free compared to a growing number of his peers.
And this is said to be because Ronaldo regularly donates blood and has been involved in numerous campaigns, including Be The 1, to encourage others to do the same.
People with tattoos can donate blood, but are not able to do so immediately after getting new ink to reduce the risk of infection.
Ronaldo also donated bone marrow after a former team-mate Carlos Martins revealed he had a son who needed bone marrow.
And Ronaldo has been a donor since.
He said donating bone marrow is “something a lot of people think is a difficult thing to do but it’s nothing more than drawing blood and doesn’t hurt”.
In April 2015, Ronaldo wrote another cheque to aid relief efforts following the Nepalese earthquake that killed 9,000 people, and injured another 22,000.
Ronaldo is said to have given £5MILLION to Save the Children’s disaster relief fund.
And even though those reports have stayed unverified and were even denied by the charity – it’s likely he did make a mystery donation.
Ronaldo’s estimated net worth clocks in at an eyewatering £891million, so it’s not all that surprising that there is some to spare.
In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the Portugal star agreed to waive four months wages to ensure Juventus could pay their staff – while the world waited to see what happened.
That’s said to have cost Ronaldo £3.8m personally.
Bernardo Silva spilled the beans when he told everyone that his fellow Portugal team-mate asked the Portugal squad to donate 50 per cent of their qualification bonus for Euro 2020.
The donation went to helping battle the coronavirus pandemic.
Silva said: “So we qualified to the 2020 Euros, which now is in 2021.
“And he gave us the idea let’s donate part of our bonus, so I think our national team, our players will donate 50 per cent of our qualifying bonus.”
Ronaldo headed to the auction house again in 2017 but this time towing his 2013 Ballon d’Or.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation raked in a massive £530,000 for the golden prize, while the gala dinner was a roaring success.
Dolores Aveiro, Ronaldo’s mother, survived breast cancer in 2007.
The United man thanked the care centre in Portugal that treated his mum, while chipping in £120,000 to their purse.
Real Madrid fan Haidar was orphaned when both of his parents were killed by a suicide bomber in Beirut, Lebanon.
When a local reporter got in touch with the 15-time European champions, the boy was eventually invited to the club, where he burst into tears as he squeezed CR7.
Ronaldo sent a car to bring the family of nine-year-old Nuhazet Guillen, who had terminal cancer, to the Real Madrid hotel in 2009.
Inviting the kid to his private Bernabeu box, Ronaldo dedicated a goal to Nuhuzet and even handed him his match shirt post-game.
The star then went a step further to pay for experimental treatment in the US before he covered all his medication and private treatment as Nuhuzet’s condition worsened.
Ronaldo paid that for over a year, until the boy’s tragic passing in March 2013.
Following the devastating 2024 floods in Spain, Ronaldo and his wife reportedly helped fund truckloads of food, water, and essential supplies directly to the affected towns.
They also helped families replace furniture lost in the floods.
In 2024, the CR7 foundation was born, built and tailored exclusively for youth education and health.
They host scholarships and fund sports programs to give vulnerable children an improved access to medical care.
After catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria struck the region, Ronaldo chartered a whole plane filled to the brim with around £260,000 worth of tents, blankets, food, baby food, and medical supplies en-route.
He also auctioned a signed shirt in a collection alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala to raise more than £196,000.
Ronaldo, a shy kid, would beg for food at the back of McDonald’s and returned the favour to one of the generous employees in 2019 when he took Paula Leca out for dinner.
Ronaldo revealed he was given free burgers by three women when he used to beg for food as a child.
After a massive appeal, Leca came forward to say she was one of the three women – calling Ronaldo “timid”.
Ronaldo and Georgina helped pay for Portuguese youngster Tomas’ cancer treatment in 2019.
After the youngster suffered a relapse of the rare cancer neuroblastoma in October 2020, Tomas’ parents appealed to try and get funding for their brave child’s operations.
And it was none other than Ronaldo and Georgina who discreetly stepped up to cover the costs, according to Georgina’s sister Ivana.
The brave kid then checked in to D’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona for tests and oncology consultations.
In 2013, Rangers legend Fernando Ricksen was suddenly diagnosed with motor neurone disease meaning he was wheelchair-bound and heavily reliant on his wife and carers.
After his condition became well-known, Ronaldo contacted the Scottish title winner to invite Ricksen and his family to a match at the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo also presented a shirt to the former right-back after a Champions League win over Legia Warsaw in October 2016
Unfortunately the star passed away in September 2019.
Ronaldo – the player of the tournament – handed out personalised Bvlgari watches to each of his Real Madrid team-mates after La Decima.
They were said to have cost him £5,000 apiece.
Like his dad Denis, older brother Hugo Aveiro battled addiction for years.
As Ronaldo grew in fame, the star decided to help boot out his destructive habits, promising to dedicate La Decima to his brother if he pulled through.
Once he did, the two brothers – ten years apart – embraced at full-time of the Champions League final and he’s now popped up at several other events, including the 2016 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Ronaldo is also godfather to Hugo’s son, while Hugo has been tasked with looking after the Ronaldo Museum in Madeira.
Ronaldo popped out to an exclusive party spot at 9.30pm for a pre-Christmas dinner with his now-wife Georgina Rodriguez and son Cristiano Jr in 2018.
But it turned out they were 90 minutes early, and they were forced to watch the clock for the best part of an hour for a table.
But the striker didn’t throw a hissy fit at chef Davide Fiore but waited it out calmly, the Turin local described Ronaldo as a “decent boy”.
The luxury Costa Navarino resort in southern Greece hosts two five-star hotels, as well as luxury private residences, conference facilities, spas, golf courses.
And they will even enforce a media blackout for their biggest stars.
Ronaldo & Co were so thankful for some privacy, he left a huge tip for the staff who took great care of him, adding £20,000 on top of his bill to be shared across ten staff both times he stayed.
CR7 is one to bat away heavy-handed security when they tackle his pitch-invaded fans to the floor.
Ronaldo also loves to interact with supporters inside stadiums – staying to throw his shirt into the crowd, sign autographs and take lots of selfies.
Ten-month-old Erik Ortiz Cruz’s mum pleaded with Ronaldo for a shirt for her son, who has cortical dysplasia – a condition that causes up to 30 seizures a day.
But after the international superstar heard about his difficult story, Ronaldo chipped in £55,000 for his initial brain surgery before promising the full cover for any follow-up treatment.
He also helped raise extra money for Erik by donating a signed kit to sell at auction.
Unlucky Charlie Silverwood had his wrist broken when Ronaldo blasted a trademark free-kick into the Vitality Stadium crowd at Bournemouth in 2013.
Shortly after, the 11-year-old kid got a call from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, while Ronaldo gave him a signed shirt.
And it happened again in a Champions League clash when a young boy burst into floods of tears when Ronaldo dashed the ball into the masses – but he leapt into the stands to give him a training top.
Super-agent Mendes was gifted a £40m Greek island by his best man, Ronaldo, when he married Sandra in 2015
Partnering with the Peter Lim Scholarship in Singapore, Ronaldo expanded his educational philanthropy to hand out Singapore Youth Scholarships.
The scheme offered increased funding for young student-athletes to chase their wildest dreams.
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