Cristiano Ronaldo is one of – if not the – most popular football players on the planet and, as such, every single action of the Al-Nassr forward is placed under intense scrutiny. Not only is the Real Madrid and Manchester United icon expected to consistently deliver world-class performances on the pitch, but the 38-year-old is also held to a similar standard away from the sport.

For all the team and individual accolades the footballing superstar has achieved through a long and storied career, the small things he has done to make an impact on various people’s lives are the sort of thing that can set him apart. One small interaction with their hero can make a fan’s day and this has been the case on many occasions.

Looking into the kind acts of good will one of the greatest players of all time has carried out over his two-decade-long career, GIVEMESPORT have decided to pick out the nine nicest moments of the Portuguese star’s time in the game.

1Comforting Karim Benzema

As previously mentioned, Ronaldo is a hero at the Santiago Bernabéu whose name carries incredible weight at the Spanish club. This comes after a decade of hard-working and truly elite performance levels. Los Blancos’ top goalscorer left quite an impression on fans and fellow players, none more so than Karim Benzema. The Ballon d’Or winning duo both signed for the Spanish giants in the summer transfer window of 2009 alongside other star-studded names, including Kaka and Xabi Alonso.

All of Real Madrid’s new signings were lining up to get their picture taken with the shirt they would be wearing at their new club. Footage shows that Benzema – who was signed from Lyon – felt the emotion of the occasion and began to tear up at the sight of his name on the back of the iconic shirt. Ronaldo spotted this and was quick to comfort his new colleague by offering his sunglasses to cover the Frenchman’s emotions. A classy touch.

2Looking after pitch invaders

The security of football players is taken very seriously in the modern game – and rightly so – but Ronaldo has always taken a lenient view upon fans running on the pitch with the sole intention of meeting their idol. The Portugal international is always a good sport on these occasions and gives his fans an experience they will never forget. The above video of Ronaldo performing his iconic ‘Sui’ celebration with a supporter is something that takes very little time or effort for the superstar, but will mean the world to the person on the receiving end.

There are countless examples from over the years in which a pitch invader has done everything they can to get to the former Man United winger, but some are stopped in their tracks by stewards. Ronaldo has been known to tell these stewards to allow the fans to have a picture with him before escorting them back off the pitch in a friendly manner. While it is not advisable to storm onto a football pitch under any circumstance, it goes to show how appreciative he is of his extremely loyal fan base.

New footage shows what happened between pitch invader and Cristiano Ronaldo amid ‘attack’ claimsRonaldo was involved in an incident with a pitch invader during Portugal’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina

3Fernando Ricksen

One of the most heart-warming stories on this entire list involves an ex-professional football player, Fernando Ricksen. The former Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg midfielder tragically passed away in September 2019 at the young age of 43. Ricksen announced in 2013 that he was terminally ill after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The Dutchman was invited to a Champions League match between Real Madrid and Legia Warsaw, after which he met Ronaldo.

Following a successful night in European competition, the winger presented his match-worn shirt to Ricksen as they took pictures together post match. This came after the pair had already met earlier in the same year at the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Again, this doesn’t take a lot of time and effort for Ronaldo, but the gesture shows the huge heart he has behind the football personality.

4Charity work for Save the Children

Many believe that Ronaldo laps up all of the adulation and fame that comes with his massive success. While this will certainly be true to a certain extent, the Portugal international is never against giving back to people in less fortunate positions than he finds himself. Football has allowed Ronaldo to grow his wealth enormously over the years, but he has made sure that a very healthy portion of his earnings have gone to charity in the past.

Ronaldo is an ambassador for ‘Save the Children’, who work to support children across 100 different countries to transform their lives. Following Real Madrid’s historic 10th Champions League/European Cup success – known as ‘La Decima’ – he donated all of his earnings from that feat along with his bonus for being named in the UEFA team of the Year to three

different charities. The total amount was €600,000, and this is just an example of the money the 38-year-old has donated to charitable causes.

5Generous donations to a hospital

Hospitals have been other beneficiaries from Roanldo’s good will as he has donated vast amounts of money to medical facilities for a variety of reasons. The most touching occurrence of this is when the Al-Nassr forward gave £120,000 to the cancer care centre in Portugal that had been taking very good care of his mother when she was ill. Dolores Aveiro – Ronaldo’s mother – thankfully beat breast cancer back in 2007.

While representing Man United at the time, Ronaldo was quick to show his appreciation towards those that looked after his mum with the generous donation. This isn’t the only instance of Ronaldo giving finances to hospitals either, as the Portugal international was a big help to medical facilities in his home country during the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020.

6Giving his shirt to an injured steward

Ronaldo is one of the purest strikers of a football the game has ever seen. When the Portuguese attackers strikes the ball, it stays struck. This was unfortunate for an innocent steward that was inadvertently hit by a Ronaldo missile during Manchester United’s warm-up ahead of a Champions League clash against Young Boys in 2021. The woman was unfortunate to have been in the firing line and Ronaldo was quick to make amends.

Going over to check on the injured steward, the United legend made sure she would leave with a smile on her face as he handed over a shirt with his name on the back. These are the small gestures that can be done by football players, who are role models to many young people around the world, and it can make all the difference to someone’s day. Making the best of a bad situation, Ronaldo more than made up for the accident.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo showed his class with beautiful moment at World Cup

Ronaldo went the extra mile for fans in wheelchairs around Portugal vs Uruguay at the World Cup…

7Regular blood donations

While it may also just be the case that Ronaldo simply does not want tattoos, the Real Madrid hero is said to have avoided any ink due to his regular blood donations. This may not be the case at all in regard to tattoos, but one thing that isn’t in question is that the 38-year-old donates blood on a frequent basis. Upon signing for Juventus in 2018, Ronaldo signed a deal that would see him promote blood donations in Italy.

This saw Ronaldo become an advocate for the Italian Blood Volunteering Foundation and would appear in posters and videos to promote blood donation and the benefits of doing so. He was also the front of the ‘Be The 1’ movement, which was led by the Singapore Red Cross to promote donating blood.

8Standing up for a young interviewer

While at a Japanese convention, the man affectionately known as ‘CR7’ was being interviewed by a young fan. The boy was attempting to speak to his idol in Portuguese despite this not being his first language. During his struggles to get his words out, some people in the room began to chuckle at his expense and Ronaldo was very quick to step in. Making sure the boy knew he was listening to him very closely, Ronaldo eventually became irritated by the laughter.

Turning to the other people in the room, he asks: “Why they smile? He speaks good Portuguese! They should be happy, because he tries very hard!” This is a heart-warming moment as Ronaldo did everything in his power to make the young boy feel welcomed and heard, despite others making it difficult. This would have made his day. Who could ever forget Ronaldo sticking up for them?

9Helping with supporters’ medical bills

There are a couple of examples of Ronaldo stepping in to pay medical bills for supporters. One of the more notable occasions was when the parents of Erik Ortiz Cruz reached out to the superstar footballer to ask for a signed shirt. This was so that they could auction the shirt and raise funds to pay for a brain operation that their 10-month-old child required. Not only did Ronaldo oblige and send the signed shirt, he also stepped in to pay for the operation and follow-up costs for the baby.

Nuhazet Guillen, a nine-year-old who suffered from cancer, was invited to a Real Madrid match in 2012 by Ronaldo and the Portuguese forward also stepped in to pay for treatment for the young fan. these are only two examples of Ronaldo going out of his way to help those in need. Incredible gestures.