Cristiano Ronaldo has graced our television screens for many years.
The Portuguese forward has arguably been one of the best soccer players of his generation, with only Lionel Messi able to stake a claim towards being the undisputed number one.
Now, Ronaldo has always been the sort of player who pays a great deal of attention to his personal brand.
A great example of this can be seen in how he conducts himself whenever he’s in the public eye, as he always dresses sharply and looks determined.
But beyond that, Ronaldo also pays attention to the smaller things that make up a much larger part the successful athlete he is today.
One of these things is the acronym that’s used to denote his name – CR7.
Today’s article will unravel the mystery of why Ronaldo is called CR7 and briefly talk about why this name has stuck over the years.
So, let’s begin with a short summary.
When Cristiano Ronaldo joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon, he received the number 7 jersey which was previously worn by David Beckham. Wearing this jersey number – which had a lot of sentimental value for fans of the club – motivated Ronaldo to perform and he was soon called CR7 by the fans who praised his on-field exploits.
Read on for more information.
What does CR7 mean?
Cristiano Ronaldo is generally referred to as CR7 because it’s a suitable name that encapsulates the initials in his name, as well as the number 7 soccer jersey number that he holds closest to his heart.
The “C” in the name stands for “Cristiano”, with the “R” in the name representing “Ronaldo”.
And then the icing on the cake is the number 7, which is meant to note the jersey number that he has worn at all the clubs he represented after and including his legendary stint at Manchester United.
Reasons why Ronaldo is known as CR7
There are a couple of explanations as to why the CR7 name stuck.
But the genesis of this is at the club where he first made a name for himself.
1. Manchester United fans
Before joining the English Premier League side, Ronaldo used to play for Sporting Lisbon wearing the number 28 jersey during his time at the club.
When he joined Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to wear the number 7 jersey as a way of motivating the player to follow the footsteps of club legends like Eric Cantona, David Beckham and George Best who also wore the prestigious number.
This inspired Ronaldo to perform at a very high level and before long, the fans were singing his praises, as they combined the initials of his name with the number 7 jersey he wore.
Ultimately, the nickname CR7 was born and has stuck with the player ever since.
Despite a brief period where he was forced to wear the number 9 jersey at Real Madrid, Ronaldo has worn the number 7 jersey at all the clubs he has gone to.
2. Branding purposes
Ronaldo cares a lot about the image he portrays.
With the huge amount of social media followers Ronaldo has [LINK] watching almost each and every move he makes, the Portuguese star obviously wants to have a consistent brand that people can easily associate him with.
That’s why the CR7 name makes so much sense from this perspective.
It’s catchy and easy to remember, but most importantly it holds a lot of historical value because that’s the name that Ronaldo has gone by when playing for the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, where he’s won several domestic and intercontinental trophies.
In fact, the CR7 term has morphed itself from being just a nickname to an actually identifiable brand that Nike uses for many of its own products.
For example, many of Nike’s Mercurial Vapor soccer cleats use the CR7 name in them.
Ronaldo also opened a museum in his hometown of Madeira which has a clever word play on the name – the Museu CR7!
Here’s what this place looks like:
3. Distinguishing himself from other Ronaldos
Ronaldo is not the only Ronaldo to exist as a soccer player, and he knows that!
By making the CR7 name his own, he is able to stand out from other players who go by the same name.
One example where the importance of the CR7 name comes to the fore is when you compare Cristiano with the Brazilian Ronaldo known as “Ronaldo Fenomeno”.
The latter was arguably just as good as CR7 in his prime soccer playing days, and you only need to take a look at the video footage below to form an opinion of this:
So, it makes sense for the Portuguese Ronaldo to have his own unique name to distinguish himself.
Is CR7 the goat of football?
Ronaldo has consistently performed at the highest level for many years.
He’s been so good that he’s even sometimes referred to as “Mr. Champions League”, particularly because he’s so often managed to come in clutch at crucial moments within the competition.
Ultimately, Ronaldo has a fairly strong case for being regarded as the greatest of all time when it comes to soccer.
But there’s another player called Messi who is more commonly referred to as the GOAT.
And if you give that article a read, you will learn exactly why.
Closing thoughts
This article has thoroughly covered why Ronaldo is called CR7.
Now that you understand that, you’ll probably have a much better appreciation of the player and the accomplishments he has managed to achieve in his soccer career.
For more Ronaldo-related content, you can have a read of the following articles:
- Why Ronaldo has so many social media followers;
- Why most Manchester United fans no longer love Ronaldo;
- Why Ronaldo is not married;
- Why Ronaldo has the nickname Penaldo; and
- The speed with which Ronaldo can kick a soccer ball
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