“I would be lying if I said yes” - Cristiano Ronaldo opens up on how he didn’t feel he’d become a football superstar

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he did not envision becoming a global superstar back when he started playing football.

Speaking in an interview with the WHOOP podcast, the Portuguese national team captain said (via Essentially Sports):

“I would be lying if I said yes (if he saw himself becoming a star). At first, I did not feel that way. Maybe then, at the beginning of the 2000s, I began to feel that everything would become different.”

Ronaldo grew up in a family with a lot of financial strain. His father worked as an equipment manager for the local club Andorinha in Madeira. Over the years, the family supported Ronaldo's dream of becoming a professional footballer and it has now led to the iconic forward becoming the highest goalscorer in the history of the game.

Ronaldo broke through the ranks into the senior football setup while playing for Sporting Lisbon before Manchester United signed him in 2003. Six years later, he had become a Ballon d'Or winner and earned a then-world record transfer (reported £80 million) to Real Madrid.

Over the next nine years, Ronaldo became the top scorer at Real Madrid and won multiple Champions Leagues, La Ligas, and four more Ballons d'Or. He followed it up with a transfer to Juventus and then returned to Manchester United in 2021.

Ronaldo moved to the Saudi Pro League at the end of 2022 and began playing for Al Nassr in 2023 January. Since then, the 39-year-old forward has registered 56 goals and 14 assists in 60 games.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has also succeeded on the international stage

The Portuguese captain has also etched his name in the history books on the international stage. He made his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003, as an 18-year-old winger. Since then he has gone on to play 205 games for his country.

Currently, Ronaldo is the highest goal scorer in international games with 128 goals in those 205 games. He won the 2016 Euro with Portugal, beating France 1-0 in the final. Ronaldo also helped Portugal win the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is set to captain Portugal at the upcoming Euro 2024. His team had a perfect qualifying campaign, registering 10 wins in 10 games. Ronaldo scored 10 goals in those games.