Who is Costinha? Meet Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate who quit football aged 25 to pursue a career in aviation

Cristiano Ronaldo and Costinha played alongside one another when Portugal’s under-15 side took on South Africa on February 24, 2001. Playing in his first-ever match for Portugal’s under-15 team, just like Costinha, Ronaldo scored a goal in a 2-1 victory over South Africa.

Ronaldo’s footballing career eventually took off, with him eventually going on to play for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al-Nassr. He is the all-time top scorer in men’s football history, has won five Champions League trophies, has lifted the European Championship with Portugal, and has bagged five Ballon d’Or awards. He is widely hailed as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

While Ronaldo went on to become a global sensation, his under-15 teammate Costinha quietly left football at the age of 25 and went on to have an aviation career. He is currently happily working as a flight attendant and recently attended to legendary coach Jose Mourinho.

Costinha rose to the under-20 level with the national team and played in the lower divisions of the Portuguese league hierarchy. In an interview with Maisfutebol in October, he revealed the reason for his premature retirement in 2011.

“Football in the lower divisions is very physical, it started to bring me problems, I was constantly injured,” Costinha said (via talkSPORT)

“When I saw that I was no longer going to reach a high level, that I was unable to do so, I made the conscious decision to leave. Many let themselves be dragged along too late, you even had legitimacy for that, to believe, because I had a very promising start.”

He also shared the experience of playing alongside Ronaldo, claiming that the Portugal icon was better than the rest even in his early days. The former midfielder revealed:

“I think that the most emblematic moment of his career was really the first game for the national team, in the under-15s. Even today, I get goosebumps when I hear the anthem.

“Of course, it becomes even more emblematic because Cristiano Ronaldo also made his debut that day, although we were far from knowing how far he would go. At the time, he was a much more virtuous player and was already on a much higher level than the others.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was 16 years 19 days old when he made his Portugal U15 debut. He went on to play nine games for them, scoring seven times.

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Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to replace Harry Maguire as Manchester United captain - Reports

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly requested then-interim coach Ralf Rangnick to take the captain’s armband away from Harry Maguire and appoint him as Manchester United's skipper.

According to ESPN, Ronaldo’s request came after a series of underwhelming performances from Maguire. Rangnick, however, refused to oblige and kept Maguire on. Under the German tactician, United finished in sixth place in the Premier League standings in the 2021-22 season, amassing only 58 points from 38 games.

Rangnick was eventually succeeded by Erik ten Hag, who had a fractured relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. Struggling for minutes, the superstar left Old Trafford in November following an explosive interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, where he criticized both Rangnick and Ten Hag.