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It’s a level of wealth that Cristiano Ronaldo could never have imagined when, aged 12, he relocated to mainland Portugal from Madeira to join the Sporting Lisbon academy.
The father-of-five’s humble upbringing was a million miles away from the Hollywood lifestyle he now enjoys, with the star admitting that food and money was scarce when he was a child and that he had to beg for burgers after training.
Ronaldo – who turns 40 tomorrow – recalled how free fast food kept him and his friends going, revealing: “Late at night, 10.30 or 11, we are a little bit hungry.
“So we have a McDonald’s next to the stadium where we lived.
“And we always go to the back door and knocked on the door: ‘Hey, any burgers left?'”
Fabio Paim, who was one of Ronaldo’s pals at the Sporting academy, confirmed: “At night we used to go to McDonald’s to pick up the burgers that no one wanted anymore so they weren’t good to sell.
“We were there every night.”
Ronaldo made an appeal in an emotional interview with Piers Morgan to find the McDonald’s staff who had taken pity on him.
He said: “Edna and two more girls, they were unbelievable.
“I never found the girls again. They closed that McDonald’s.”
But as a result of the publicity, Edna Caldas came forward to say she was one of the workers.
Edna said: “This was something that all happened such a long time ago.
“I’m really happy at what he’s gone on to become. I never thought he would remember me so many years on.
“It shows how wonderful he is that he hasn’t forgotten small things like this from his past.”
From such humble beginnings and poor nutrition emerged one of the greatest athletes in sporting history.
Pretty much from the day Ronaldo arrived at Manchester United as a skinny 17-year-old to …
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