CRISTIANO RONALDO is a Portuguese soccer legend and arguably the greatest footballer of all time.
But he wouldn't be half the man he is today without the Irish.
Here are 11 crazy connections between Cristiano Ronaldo and Ireland.
11. He's named after an Irish-American great
The fourth and youngest child of Maria Dolores does Santos and Jose Dinis Aveiro, CR7’s parents christened him Ronaldo as a tribute to US president of the time, Ronald Reagan.
Reagan's great-grandparents were Irish Catholic emigrants from County Tipperary.
10. CR7 made his Real Madrid debut in Ireland
Ronaldo’s first start for Real Madrid came in a friendly match against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on July 20th, 2009.
The forward helped Real to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ireland’s most successful club side.
9. Ronaldo once turned his hand to hurling
Ronaldo once tried his hand at a spot of hurling during a special football training clinic with Real Madrid at the grounds of the Carton House Hotel.
"He wasn't much good, he was very funny when he tried to play hurling," Chad McEnaney from Knockbridge told The Argus at the time.
8. He scored his first international hat-trick for Portugal in Belfast
Ronaldo bagged his first hat-trick for Portugal in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast on September 6th, 2013.
Portugal ran out 4-2 winners on the night, moving one step closer to qualification in the process.
7. Conor McGregor is a good friend of CR7's
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoys a special affinity with Ireland’s very own sports superstar.
Back in July 2016, CR7 and The Notorious got together for a special sparring session, trading notes on their various successes and forging a strong friendship and mutual respect that has been maintained to this day.
6. RyanAir once named a plane after him
Ireland’s favourite discount airline paid a special tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo following Portugal’s surprise victory over France at Euro 2016.
Madeira Airpot was renamed Cristiano Ronaldo Airport. Ryanair also had one of its planes renamed in honour of CR7. The plane was kitted out with a modified logo that read “Ryanaldo”.
5. Ronaldo has an appreciation for Michael Flatley’s Riverdance
While CR7 has never confirmed his love of the Irish jig, the striker did appear to channel the Lord of the Dance during a 3-2 La Liga victory over Levante back in October 2013.
Ronaldo celebrated scoring the winner that night with a dance seemingly inspired by the great man, Michael Flatley, at his fast-footed best.
4. U2 loves Cristiano Ronaldo as much as the rest of us
Blessed is Lisbon, the city that gave us Ronaldo, Eusebio, Fernando Passoa Antonio Guterres, Jose Saramango.#U2 #U2eiTour #lisboa #portugal pic.twitter.com/ZFF5tEOipm
— U2 (@U2) September 17, 2018
Ronaldo has plenty of fans over in Ireland, including the Emerald Isle’s most famous contribution to the world of music, U2.
During a gig in Lisbon, the band even paid tribute to the striker tweeting: “Blessed is Lisbon, the city that gave us Ronaldo, Eusebio, Fernando Passoa Antonio Guterres, Jose Saramango.”
3. He’s a big fan of trainer John Kavanagh
[Picture: Inpho]According to Kavanagh, who revealed all in an interview with the Irish Independent, Ronaldo spent much of the party in the company of Kavanagh.
"Ronaldo comes over and tells me that he reads everything I write and follows me on Instagram. I'm thinking 'Wait until I tell my dad about this',” the trainer said.
"He kept coming over, and then he would drift away, and then I'd be in another part [of the house] and he'd come over again."
Keen to learn everything about training and the psychology of competition, at one point Ronaldo even got the Irishman in a headlock. “It was a drunk party,” Kavanagh remarked.
2. Ronaldo’s company is based in Ireland
According to a report from Spanish newspaper El Confidencial in 2016, Ronaldo has his very own company based in Ireland.
Multisports & Image Management (MIM) Limited, was incorporated in 2004 and its headquarters are based in Dublin.
1. Roy Keane made him the player he is today
When Ronaldo won his fifth Ballon D’Or, he was careful to pay tribute to several of his Manchester United teammates for helping make him the player he is today, with Keane chief among them.
"Since I was 14, 15 or 16 years old I knew that I was different from other kids," Ronaldo told France Football. "I did different things. I realised that I was good at Manchester United, when I played with players like Giggs, Keane or Ferdinand. I had talent. The English mentality is different and those people helped me a lot to be what I am now. I have to thank my colleagues in Manchester."
The respect is evidentialy mutual, with Keane speaking in glowing terms about Ronaldo in his second autobiography: "I liked the lad straightaway. He had a nice presence about him, and a good attitude. What impressed me most was that he’d been given the option of staying in Lisbon for another year, on loan, but he said no; he’d come over to Manchester straightaway. I thought it was a good, brave decision... After the first few days, watching him train, my reaction was, ‘This lad is going to be one of the world’s greatest players.’ I didn’t say it publicly, because I’d always be wary of building a player up too early – or knocking him down.
"He was amazing. He was immediately one of the hardest working players at United. Most of the players I knew worked hard, but Ronaldo had the talent on top of the work rate. He was good-looking and he knew it. He was vain in that sense – at the mirror. He was a big lad, a big unit. I’d think, ‘Good on yeh.’ Looking at some of the other lads in front of the mirror, I’d think, ‘Yeh fuckin’ nugget.’ But Ronaldo had an innocence to him, and a niceness. I don’t think he ever slackened off, or that he was ever more worried about the mirror than his game. I always felt that football was his love."
See More: Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Ireland, Soccer
