Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players ever to play soccer. But there are many things that people don’t know about him, such as what languages he speaks.
I wanted to find out what languages Ronaldo speaks for myself, so I did some research, and this is what I found out.
Cristiano Ronaldo speaks 4 languages:
- English
- Italian
- Spanish
- and Portuguese
Being able to speak four languages is impressive! Ronaldo can hold a conversation in any of these languages, but he speaks some of them more fluently than he can speak the others.
Let’s have a look at each of them, and I’ll show how well he does in each language. I’ve also added videos of him speaking the languages so you can decide for yourself how capable he really is.
Is Ronaldo the GOAT of Soccer? Find out in my article – Who is the GOAT of Soccer? Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo?
Does Ronaldo Speak English?
First, let’s start by answering the question of whether Ronaldo speaks English, as that is the question most people want to know the answer to.
Ronaldo does speak English. Having spent six years living in England while playing for Manchester United, Ronaldo learned to speak English fluently and has maintained this ability up until the present day.
From 2003 until 2009, Ronaldo played for Manchester United in the English Premier League. He joined as an 18-year-old, ready to learn what it takes to be the best and learn from those around him.
To do this, he had to learn to understand and speak the language that was being spoken around him every day. And in England, that was English.
Although he didn’t immediately pick it up, by the time he left England in 2009, he could speak English fluently. He could also comfortably hold a conversation in English.
Have a look at this video below to see Ronaldo being interviewed in English during his first time at Manchester United.
Does Ronaldo Speak Italian?
The next language Ronaldo has shown an ability to speak is the language of Italian.
Ronaldo does speak in Italian. After joining the Italian soccer club Juventus in 2018, he showed he could understand and speak Italian. However, he isn’t very comfortable speaking Italian and will often reply to questions in English or Spanish rather than Italian.
In the summer of 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Turin, Italy, to play for Juventus.
As is the case when anyone moves to a different country, it is incredibly helpful to at least understand the language of the country you are in. It’s even better to be able to speak it.
After joining Juventus, Ronaldo showed that he was capable of speaking Italian, as you can see in the video below.
However, as I looked into this, I found that most of the time, Ronaldo would respond in English or Spanish to questions asked in Italian.
If you take a look at this interview below, you will see what I mean.
It’s hard to know if the reason for this is because he feels unable to respond to the interviewer in Italian or if he just prefers not to.
Based on his previously shown ability to learn a new language, my guess would be that he simply needs more time to learn the language and become comfortable speaking it. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few years from now, after having spent more time in Italy, he was more confident speaking in Italian and was making use of this ability more often in interviews.
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Does Ronaldo Speak Spanish?
The third language that many people ask if Ronaldo speaks is Spanish.
Ronaldo does speak Spanish. Having spent nine years living in Spain while playing for Real Madrid, Ronaldo learned to speak Spanish fluently and maintains this ability up until the present day.
In 2009, Ronaldo left England and joined Real Madrid in Spain. Real Madrid paid around $100 million for this transfer fee, and, at the time, this was the most expensive transfer in soccer history. [source]
As with Ronaldo’s previous moves, he needed to learn the language of the country he was living and working in. Although there are many nationalities in the changing rooms of all the top soccer teams around the world, the majority of communication is done in the language of the country in which the team is based.
Ronaldo quickly learned to speak Spanish confidently, as you can see in this video below, and will still speak Spanish regularly up until the present day.
The reason Ronaldo learned to speak Spanish so comfortably and so quickly is probably due to his country of birth and the similarities between the two languages.
Ronaldo Speaks Portuguese
One language that people don’t hear Ronaldo speak as often is Portuguese.
Ronaldo speaks Portuguese fluently. Having been born and raised in Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Portuguese is Ronaldo’s mother tongue and the first language he learned to speak.
Ronaldo has spoken Portuguese since he was a small child. He probably speaks and understands Portuguese better than any of the other languages he speaks.
Have a listen to this video below of Ronaldo being interviewed in Portuguese and responding in Portuguese.
The reason people don’t hear Ronaldo speak this language as often is that the Portuguese language is spoken far less widely than English, Spanish, or even Italian. Because of this, there are fewer opportunities for Ronaldo to talk in Portuguese.
It is also the case that, for the majority of the time, Ronaldo is interviewed in the language of the nation he is in. Considering he has spent most of his playing career in England, Spain, and Italy, these are the languages you will most often hear him interviewed in and respond to.
Conclusion
As you can see from the videos and information above, Ronaldo speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently and can also speak some Italian.
If you’re also interested in finding out what languages Lionel Messi speaks, have a look at this article I recently wrote answering this question. If you’re more interested in Neymar Jr., then check out this article.
And if you’re interested in how all the pro soccer players, including Ronaldo, train, have a look at this article I put together. It even includes specific training you can do to become more like the pros.
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