HE is the highest-paid football player in the world, with a net worth of over £229million and a portfolio of luxury properties across six countries. 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 his latest star turn as the £173million-a-year poster boy of the Saudi Pro League, he has devoted himself to self-improvement.

Former United team-mate Nicky Butt revealed he and other players would “abuse” Ronaldo at first if he dived in training. But they never questioned his phenomenal work ethic. Butt said: “'He was the last to leave the building. “In fact, you couldn't get him off the training pitch as he worked relentlessly on his techniques, as we were all walking off he was carrying a bag of balls to work on those techniques.

“We would be having lunch in the canteen or getting ready to go home and you could hear the voice of Sir Alex bellowing across the training fields at two or three o'clock in the afternoon, shouting at Cristiano that it was time to get off the pitch as ‘We have a game in two days - enough now’.”. But at times even Ferguson had to admit he was fighting a losing battle against a player so devoted to getting better.

Fergie said: “He sacrificed himself to be the best. “I remember we were playing Arsenal on the Saturday and it was pouring with rain at Carrington. “You know he would always practise after training and I said to him ‘We’ve got a game tomorrow and it’s too wet. The ground is too soft.’. “So I went into my office, looked out of the window and what did he do? He went on the Astroturf. “I had no argument. I couldn’t say anything to him. He’s beat me.”.

To have that mentality he had at 18, he deserves everything he's got. When Ronaldo arrived at United in 2003, Wayne Rooney was the Premier League’s young superstar and would join him at Old Trafford a year later. But by the time Ronaldo left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in a world-record transfer in 2009, he was the better player, with his first Ballon d’Or already under his belt. Former United defender Nemanja Vidic was in no doubt why the Portugal star went on to become one of the game’s all-time greats - and why Rooney fell short.

Vidic said: “You see Cristiano on Instagram, it's all flashy stuff but he deserves it. "At that age - 18, 19, to 21 - to have that mentality to work hard, not go out, fight for your dream, the way he did it, he deserves everything he got. “For me, Wayne Rooney, he failed in terms of that. "In one moment they are similar, the same. What brought Cristiano Ronaldo much higher was his mentality to change, to work hard, to improve, to have goals.

"I'm not saying Wayne didn't have a mentality, but he played pure on his talent. “He didn't invest in his body, invest in extra training, the physical side.". At Real, Ronaldo found new levels of achievement and recognition, breaking the club’s all-time goalscoring record, lifting the Champions League four times and winning four more Ballon d’Or crowns as the world’s best player. The Portugal winger claimed the first of his two La Liga titles under countryman Jose Mourinho.