Cristiano Ronaldo: A superstar who polarizes

Cristiano Ronaldo has won a number of awards in his life. One of the most special was presented to him just before Christmas on his home island of Madeira. Ronaldo was honored with a medal and a statue erected in the harbor of the island's capital, Funchal. "The statue is prettier than me," joked the Portuguese star next to the three-and-a-half-meter bust, which mirrors his famous free-kick pose.

"I think people should be honored while they're alive and not after their death," said Ronaldo, who will turn 30 on February 5. In Madeira's regional parliament, the Portugal national team captain was also given the highest order of the island, a huge honor for a sportsman who left Madeira over 18 years ago to start his football career.

Against all odds

At the age of just 12, Ronaldo left C.D. Nacional's youth team to join the elite training group at capital club, Sporting Lisbon. The move brought initial difficulty for Ronaldo as his strong Madeiran accent left him isolated and mocked by his teammates. His performances, however, spoke for themselves. At just 17, he made his debut for Sporting's first team and played only one season there before one of the world's biggest clubs came calling. After a home friendly against Manchester United in 2003, visiting manager Sir Alex Ferguson was so impressed he signed Ronaldo.

In his six years at Old Trafford, Ronaldo became the complete attacker. He was explosive in all aspects of his play, he developed phenomenal dribbling skills and his set-pieces became a source of endless goals. He won three league titles with United, as well as a Champions League trophy. In 2008, he was voted World Footballer of the Year for the first time.

A year later, Ronaldo had swapped the red of Manchester for the white of Madrid, joining Real for the most expensive transfer fee in football history: 93 million euros ($110 million). He had become a superstar, but "Cr7" had also become a brand.

"A dream has come true. I'm playing for Real Madrid," he said at his presentation in front of 80,000 fans in the Bernabeu. Ronaldo has repaid them handsomely. In 180 league games, Ronaldo has already scored over 200 goals. In January 2014, he was voted World Footballer of the Year for the second time in his career . Four months later he was a key figure in Real Madrid's Champions League triumph - a tenth European Cup that Real had waited 12 years to win, and one made sweeter by defeating city rivals Atletico in the final.

Poster boy and family man

There can be little doubt that Ronaldo is the brightest star in the Madrid team. He is representing 'the biggest club in the world' and playing well. He earns around 18 million euros ($21 million) a year for his work on the pitch, and then a few more million for his advertising campaigns. On billboards at home and abroad, his smile and rippling physique are regular fixtures. He has his own fashion label, underwear collection and fragrance.

Critics see this as arrogance, but there is far more to Ronaldo than meets the eye. The 29-year-old is social, helpful and does not take his world for granted. "I admire him for how he deals with his status and how hard he works on himself," said Germany international and club teammate Sami Khedira in January 2011, six months after joining Madrid from VfB Stuttgart.

"I've spoken to him a lot and was flabbergasted when he said to me that during the season he doesn't go out and party and doesn't drink alcohol. The way he is perceived presents a different view of him. He has a clarity of thought and loves life with his family. He was the first player to offer me help and to tell me what I needed to watch out for," added Khedira.

Despite the intense media glare on his private life, Ronaldo remains a committed family man. He has one younger brother, two older sisters and a four-year-old son called Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., and he is particularly close to his mother, Dolores. She named her first son after US President Ronald Reagan, who began his second term only hours after his birth. His name in full is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro but to his millions of fans around the world, there is only one Ronaldo.