It was not a coincidence that the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo achieved an unprecedented record for any sports hero, reaching half a billion followers on social media, but there are many reasons that raised his global popularity to this superstitious degree.
We observe 17 reasons behind the overwhelming popularity of Ronaldo, most of which are purely humanitarian, as the Portuguese star does a lot of charitable work, but some of them are unique in the sports community, which makes him deservedly one of the most compassionate hearts in all sports, and the reasons are as follows:
1- The popularity of United, Real and Juventus,
Ronaldo had the opportunity to wear the jerseys of 3 of the largest and most popular European teams in the world, as he started in Manchester United, the most popular in Britain, in addition to his abundant balance in the hearts of football fans at the global level.
The Don’s popularity doubled in 2009 when he moved with a record deal at the time to Real Madrid, which is almost the most popular in the world, and although Juventus is not as popular as the royal, when Ronaldo moved to him in 2018, he had reached the point that he was the one who made popularity for the shirt he wears, In addition, the team has monopolized the Italian league for nearly a decade.
2- Continuing to shine for 15 years,
despite completing his 36th year before, Ronaldo still retains his brilliance, and scored the net for more than 15 years, but has recently become the historical goal scorer in world football, surpassing previous and current legends such as Brazilian Pele and Argentine Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to set records 🔥💪
Ronaldo scored his goal number 759 and equaled Joseph Petsan as the most-recorded player in professional football (clubs and the first team). # Cristiano_Ronaldo |
Juventus | Serie A #beINSerieA |
#SerieA pic.twitter.com/5AmUSg1bQ4
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 10, 2021
3- Faithful and did not forget his origin
despite the overwhelming fame and fortune that exceeded a billion dollars, Ronaldo did not forget his origin when he was poor, and he was not ashamed to talk about his going as a 12-year-old child to a McDonald's restaurant next to the Portuguese Sporting Club stadium in order to eat the leftovers of customers' food because he did not own Enough money to buy the food he craves.
Last year, he announced during a popular British TV program that he was looking for a woman who was sympathetic to him and bought him food during that miserable period in his life, in order to return the favor to her.
That humility of a great star who was the first to exceed his billion dollar fortune among footballers, made people even those who do not support football appreciate him, and doubled his status among his fans and also doubled his increasing popularity.
4- Complimenting the undercover and other stars
Ronaldo is keen on some simple touches financially, but it is big in morale because it doubled the fans' love for him and expanded his popularity even more, including his compliment of some obscure players or prominent stars in the less popular leagues, where he sent his shirt to an amateur player in Italy who scored a similar goal For the double kick in which he scored his historic goal in the Real Madrid jersey against Juventus.
He does not hesitate to interact with any player who imitates him or scores a goal similar to one of his goals, even if in the amateur leagues.
And his last touch, which is unique to other big stars, is sending his shirt at the beginning of this year to the Syrian striker Omar Al-Somah - the target of the Saudi Al-Ahly club - who in turn thanked the Portuguese star, stressing that he is his idol in a video clip he posted on his account via Instagram.
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A post shared by Omar Al Somah (@somah)
5- His friendship with Arab and Muslim stars
Ronaldo maintains many friendships with Arab and Islamic sports stars, most notably the mixed martial sports champion Habib Nour Mamedov, and Moroccan kickboxing champion Badr Hari.
The agent of the Moroccan player residing in Spain, Anis Oseve, was the main reason for the multiple relations of Ronaldo with the Arab stars, due to their close friendship since the Don was staying in the Spanish capital Madrid, but it was the reason for the multiple visits of the Portuguese star to Morocco and his construction of a luxury hotel in Marrakech.
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A post shared by Anass Ouzifi ✍️ (@ anasss2015)
6- Defending his fans
Ronaldo is distinguished by not responding to the vast majority of fans who cross security barriers in stadiums to greet him closely or embrace him, but rather defends them from the brutality of security men at times.
The cameras monitored many situations in which Ronaldo saved the fans from the harsh handling of security men when these fans tried to infiltrate the stadium, and he was keen to constantly interact with the fans inside the stadiums, and he often stayed to throw his shirt at the crowd, sign and take pictures with them.
7- Selling his golden shoes
Ronaldo is the most prominent sports star deservedly in charitable work, as he preferred to sell the European Golden Shoe, which he won in 2011 after scoring 40 goals for Real Madrid for charity, and it was sold in a charity auction for a huge amount of $ 1.6 million, directed to build A number of schools in Gaza, which is one of the humanitarian gestures that raised its shares with the speed of a missile in the Arab world sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, especially the besieged Gaza Strip.
Cristiano Ronaldo donates € 1.5 million to Palestine Gaza.
May Allah Guide him to Islam.
Ameen @ Cristiano pic.twitter.com/MsrgYVBWZ1
- Dhonbe .. faxe🎈🇲🇻 (@WarheadHussain) May 12, 2019
8- A second donation of the Golden Ball,
Don repeated the donation of the Golden Ball in 2017 when the global prize that he won in 2013 was sold at a charity auction in London, about 700 thousand dollars allocated to children suffering from harsh conditions that threaten their lives.
9- His support for the children of Syria,
despite his association with his club and the national team, Ronaldo is an ambassador for three major international charities, and in his speech winning the Ballon d'Or in 2014, he referred to a group of children - with leukemia - whom he met.
In 2016, he recorded a message to children affected by the Syrian conflict, describing them as "true heroes", and saying, "I am with you."
He also made a secret donation that he asked Save the Children not to reveal.
10- He donated to Portuguese hospitals
and Ronaldo's charitable work multiplied in his hometown, where he cooperated with his agent, Jorge Mendes, last March to donate about 1.3 million dollars to hospitals in Portugal to combat the Coronavirus pandemic by providing beds and ventilators to deal with the large number of patients suffering from Coronavirus infection.
Daniel Ferro, President of Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, revealed this charitable work by saying, "Jorge Mendes, who volunteered with Cristiano Ronaldo to fund two intensive care units for critically ill patients equipped with all modern equipment to provide care for Covid-19 patients," revealed.
He also donated to the hospital where his mother, Dolores Aveiro, was treated for breast cancer in 2007, about $ 160,000.
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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)
11- Donating bonuses
Ronaldo was also very generous in giving up the money gained from his exceptional performance on the field. In 2013, he donated the reward for his selection in the UEFA team of 100,000 euros to the Red Cross.
A year later, the Portuguese star led Real Madrid to winning the tenth European Champions League title, and donated the $ 590,000 winning bonus to the charitable organizations for which he works as an ambassador, namely: the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Vision and Save the Children.
12- Blood donation
Ronaldo is keen to donate blood regularly, and he has participated in many campaigns to encourage others to do the same, and this is the secret of not drawing any tattoos on his body.
Ronaldo said in 2015, "We can all make a difference by donating blood. Each donation can benefit 3 people in emergencies and long-term medical treatments, which is why I am passionate about encouraging people around the world to donate blood for life and help save lives."
13- The Nepal Earthquake
Donation Ronaldo donated again a huge sum of money in 2015 to the relief efforts after the Nepal earthquake in April 2015, where the disaster caused 9,000 deaths, 22,000 injuries, and countless damages.
14- The orphan fan’s call:
Ronaldo did not hesitate to invite the Lebanese child Haider, who was encouraging Real Madrid and whose parents were killed in a suicide attack, to visit the club’s headquarters in the capital, Madrid, and he documented this with a touching video clip of Ronaldo embracing the little boy who cried from overjoyed to meet his star Preferred.
15- Human touches
Ronaldo is keen to help his fans, in 2009 he learned that a 9-year-old boy had been diagnosed with cancer, so he sent a driver to bring the child's family to the hotel where the Real Madrid team was staying, and invited them to watch one of the royal matches in the Santiago Bernabeu, and gave the child his shirt after the match .
Don did not abandon the child, as he sent him at his own expense to receive experimental treatment in the United States, and he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment at a private medical center until the child died in March 2013.
16- Helping a sick infant
in 2014 he responded to the request of 10-month-old Eric Ortiz Cruz's mother to donate his shirt to a child with Cortical dyspalasia - a rare disease that causes 30 epileptic seizures per day - not only that, but Ronaldo pushed $ 72,000 for a primary brain surgery for the infant, with his pledge to cover all costs of his treatment.
Cristiano Ronaldo invited Fernando Ricksen to the Legia Warsaw game tonight.
Legend.
💙⚽️ pic.twitter.com/HNVyn7Irqk
- Rangers Culture (@RangersCulture) October 18, 2016
17- Rexen's invitation
After the Dutch international player, Fernando Rixen, was injured by a rare neurological disease in 2013, he was in a wheelchair until his death in 2019, and when Ronaldo learned in 2016, he invited Rexen and his family to attend a match in the Santiago Bernabeu, and after the match he gave him his shirt.