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Quite simply, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all-time, maybe in the top five or top ten in history in most people’s eyes. He has achieved several accolades which put him amongst the elite in any sport – and with a career still ongoing, the final legacy still awaits. We take a look at the 100 top quotes about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Five Ballon d’Or awards, seven major League titles, five Champions Leagues, one European Championship, numerous goal scoring and appearance records, over 1000 professional matches and over 800 career goals, tell the tale of the footballer so far.
Full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born in February 1985, and lived in a poor family. His father was a kit man with a Portuguese football club on the island of Madeira. After playing for his first main club Sporting CP, Ronaldo moved on to the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus in a professional career which has so far spanned two decades.
His collection of trophies adds up to over 30. All the more remarkable is the fact that he had heart problems when he was young, and needed an operation to put things right.
His record with his national team Portugal also bears reading; over 180 appearances, a record 115 goals, and the captaincy honour when the nation won the European Championship in 2016.
Ronaldo is one of the most famous and well-known athletes in the world. With major endorsements and influence, he was the first footballer and the third sportsman to hit the one billion dollar mark in career earnings.
He has been honoured with both the order of knighthood and the order of civil merit from his country of Portugal. At present he is with Premier League side Manchester United, in his second spell there.
“With Ronaldo and Giggsy on the pitch at the same time, opposition defenders will be petrified!” George Best
“His feet are mesmerising at times.” Alan Hansen
“He’s not a show pony, he’s the real thing……He’s a special talent.” Gary Neville
“I loved being over there a few times, learning off the greatest player ever in Ronaldo.” Joe Hugill
“…..look at the spring he’s got. He commits to this, the direction, he wants it more than anyone else…..Stunning isn’t it” Martin Keown
“I was worried because there was the possibility of him giving up playing football.” Maria Dolores
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s first United game as a substitute ……was undoubtedly the most exciting debut performance I’ve ever seen.” George Best
“Maybe we would have won the title with Ronaldo, but we had Harry Kewell, who was outstanding at the time.” Gerard Houllier
“There have been a few players described as ‘the new George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me.” George Best
“There’s probably not a football player on the planet that isn’t jealous of Cristiano.” Wayne Rooney
“He has got the tricks and party pieces.” Alan Hansen
“Cristiano stands out in football. There are many who stand out and always do their best.” Lionel Messi
“…..I would probably say that Cristiano was on another level.” Paul Scholes
“…..out of this world. What he’s still doing now is exceptional.” Gary Neville
“I trained because I had to, he does it because he loves it.” Ronaldo
“Obviously, Cristiano is getting on a bit. He certainly isn’t the player he was in his 20s, and that happens.” Wayne Rooney
“……he had something that was different from the others and that was that he played a lot of football. Even from a young age.” Barros Sousa
“I want to clarify that for me Cristiano Ronaldo is at the same level as Messi and they are both outstanding players, each in their own way.” Sepp Blatter
“On the one hand, they are unfair to a football player who millions of fans around the world, Real Madrid or no, they are proud. This is without doubt one of the best players of all time.” Florentino Perez
“…….eight, nine years old……And at that time, Cristiano Ronaldo was already a great player.” Ricardo Santos
“……trained very well today, as always…..He’s shown every day that he’s a great player, serious and professional, respectful to everyone.” Carlo Ancelotti
“He brought in a more dynamic showmanship…. He is the ultimate showman. He has that slight arrogance…..he is saying ‘All eyes on me’ and this is going in….. The way he struts up and places it; the world is watching him.” Mike Phelan
“In the six years we had him, you just saw his game grow all the time, and he was a fantastic player. Now you see the complete player.” Alex Ferguson
“And when he didn’t have the ball, he cried…….Cristiano really liked winning…..When that didn’t happen, Ronaldo cried.” Ricardo Santos
“I think we are maybe equal in our desire to score goals.” Ronaldo
“Dedication is a huge part of staying at the top and Ronaldo’s focus is perhaps unparalleled within the game.” Adam Bate
“Cristiano had no fear, the biggest players fear nothing.” Alex Ferguson
“Scoring goals is the hardest part of the game. Some players don’t even score in training! What more can you say about him? He’s a genius!” Roy Keane
“……only the media, the press, who wants us to be at loggerheads but I’ve never fought with Cristiano.” Lionel Messi
“…to distinguish an athlete of world renown who has been a symbol of Portugal globally, contributing to the international projection of the country.” Anibal Cavaco Silva
“I have never seen a more professional person.” Paul Scholes
“Ronaldo was called ‘abelhinha’ (little bee) because he was small and he was very quick.” Ricardo Santos
“….of all the work he put in – not so much during the training sessions, but after the sessions. He would always stay and practice for an extra half an hour on the areas he had most difficulties.” Christopher Almeida de Pilar
“He went on Saturday and three days later, Aurelio told me that the boy was really good.” Joao Marques de Freitas
“The scouts and the people working at the clubs considered him the best youngster in Madeira…..He was fast, great at shooting, he was already powerful.” Pedro Talinhas
“That’s likely because he’s the greatest player in the world.” Gary Neville
“He is a child that I wanted to abort……God didn’t want that to happen and I was blessed because of that and God didn’t punish me.” Maria Dolores
“Today the best player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo….I think he’s the best, because he’s more consistent, but you can’t forget about [Lionel] Messi, of course, but he’s not a striker.” Pele
“Had I been born with Ronaldo’s talent, I wouldn’t have had to work as hard as I did.” Luis Figo
“He did everything a centre forward should be doing, leading the line and defending.” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
“Cristiano is one of the hottest young players in the market….” Luis Correia
“In youth games we would win 9-0 or 10-0 with Cristiano on our team and he would always get half our goals.” Antonio de Mendonca
“At that age Ronaldo is not just a footballer, he is waiting to be an icon.” Eusebio
“He is an extremely talented footballer.….the lads in the dressing room talked about him constantly…..He is one of the most exciting young players I’ve ever seen.” Alex Ferguson
“From a very young age he was clearly the No 1 young footballer in Portugal.” Antonio de Mendonca
“Ronaldo is a great player, a marvellous young player.” Bobby Charlton
“I think Ronaldo can be one of the top footballers in the world.” Gary Neville
“It was a marvellous debut…..I knew Cristiano would add penetration.” Alex Ferguson
“He’s been one of the greatest in the last 15 years…..As a finisher, he’s exceptional.” Pep Guardiola
“I could watch United just to watch him. He does things no-one else in the world is doing at the minute…….He’s the best in the world.” John Terry
“Cristiano is the most exciting player in the country at the moment.” Gordon Taylor
“…..avoid Cristiano close to the box, because there he is almost unstoppable.” Pep Guardiola
“There is nothing wrong with booing. …..But he had the nerve to handle it.” Alex Ferguson
“That was an amazing goal…..Not only an important one but an amazing goal. I think overall it was a good performance by Cristiano.” Ralf Rangnick
“He was different class, he looks a very exciting player and his introduction was crucial.” Sam Allardyce
“The arrival of Ronaldo and Keane off the bench changed the mood.” Nigel Adderley
“He would enhance any team, any league anywhere. I really believe he is that good.” Eusebio
“He’s one of the world’s greatest…..” Roy Keane
“….Cristiano Ronaldo was particularly outstanding.” Gary Neville
“Ronaldo was outstanding…..We need to look after him in the right way because he is going to be an outstanding footballer.” Alex Ferguson
“The first goal killed us……mistakes get punished against these people.” Dennis Wise
“And I can say that he’s competitive, he likes to win, and for that reason he is the best in the world.” Rafa Benitez
“…..he will go on to be one of Manchester United’s great players.” Alex Ferguson
“I would love to see both Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo play for Real Madrid next season.” Ramon Calderon
“At 22, he has the same skill factor as Maradona and Pele.” Alex Ferguson
“He is one of the best signings I have ever made.” Alex Ferguson
“On some occasions when a normal person wouldn’t score, he scores.” Alvaro Morata
“Barca turned him down because they told me they were considering signing Arsenal’s Thierry Henry.” Jorge Mendes
“From the technical point of view he is an extraordinary player…..” Gian Piero Gasperini
“….contribution to the expansion of Portuguese football across the world.” A Bola (newspaper)
“He is still one of the best in football history. He’s great, has incredible quality…..” Alvaro Morata
“You just have to sit there and say ‘wow’ and applaud the guy.” Alan Shearer
“He is indisputably one of the greatest players in the history of the game. An absolute phenomenon…..” Gary Lineker
“Ronaldo will develop into a fantastic player.” Alex Ferguson
“He does things I have never seen from any player and it really is marvellous to watch.” Bobby Charlton
“He is the best. The best in the world…..Probably the best ever.” Jose Mourinho
“He has magic in his boots. The first thing you notice about him is that he is incredibly quick and very, very powerful for such a young man.” Eusebio
“He plays for United and is one of the members of the family.” Eric Cantona
“…..Ronaldo gets the ball, you can just leave him to it while he beats player after player.” Ryan Giggs
“At 21, Ronaldo has had a great season and we believe the best is yet to come.” David Gill
“The amount of goals and the amount of assists he’s had has been frightening.” Paul Scholes
“United have been brave from the start.….they work very well with young players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.” Eric Cantona
“One of his best qualities is his dribbling…..” Luiz Felipe Scolari
“…..some things Ronaldo can do with a football that makes me touch my head and wonder how on earth he did it.” Luis Figo
“…..Cristiano is a goals machine. He is an incredible player…..there will never be another Ronaldo.” Jose Mourinho
“He has great, close control and his technique is excellent.” Eusebio
“Until Ronaldo put that penalty in I never had a negative thought.” Gary Neville
“At this moment in time, I think he is the best player in the world.” Alex Ferguson
“…….the vote of the Football Writers’ Association shows that what we are all interested in is honouring the best player in the country.” Paul Hetherington
“He needed to have experience and to score goals – now he has that and is a world-class player.” Eric Cantona
“…..he is extraordinary, one of the best players ever.” Maurizio Sarri
“For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world.” Marcelo
“We knew today he would score. That’s the kind of player he is.” Luke Shaw
“…..to have a player who scores as easily as he drinks water.” Paul Pogba
“From the beginning he has scored goals as always and had no problems adapting.” Lionel Messi
“If Ronaldo stays in England I think he can turn things around…..” Jose Mourinho
“He has improved a lot and developed more skills since joining Manchester United and working with Ferguson and assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.” Luiz Felipe Scolari
“……the best in the world.” Gary Megson
“Ronaldo is better than Messi.” Gary Neville
“He senses the big moments…..” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
