Ronaldo

RELIANCE HOME VIDEO, Rs 499

Director: Anthony Wonke

From the producers of Amy and Senna, comes this sports biography of Portuguese soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo. This documentary takes you into the star’s personal life and gives you candid and unparalleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s best footballers, Ronaldo’s career has been filled with ups and downs. Filmed with the footballer’s permission, we get down to visiting Ronaldo’s home and seeing the rise of the former ManUnited star from the streets of Madeira as a teenager to his days of stardom.

Interspersed with unseen family footage and clips of the man in action on the field, the storyline also takes a dig at Ronaldo’s rivalry with Lionel Messi, and the pair’s stranglehold on the biggest individual prize in world football, the Ballon D’Or.

The 90-minute film also reveals the family’s personal side with Ronaldo’s mother stating that Ronaldo, her fourth child, was unwanted and that she considered aborting him. Ronaldo also speaks about his father’s death in 2005, attributed to alcohol addiction, and his brother inheriting his father’s problem.

We also take in shots of his massive Madrid home and his garage where his top-of-the-range Porsches, Range Rovers and Ferraris are parked. In one conversation, Ronaldo asks his 5-year-old son, Cristiano Junior, which car is missing and gets a fitting reply: “Lamborghini”! We see Ronaldo spending quality time with his son, although we never get to see Cristiano Junior’s mother. “People speculate that it was with this girl or the other or a surrogate mother,” Ronaldo says. “I’ve never told anybody and I never will.”

The film also aims to portray ‘super agent’ Jorge Mendes, who represents the Portuguese player, as a benevolent hero without mention of the millions of pounds the star has earned for him in commission payments.

We are also treated to some close-ups of Ronaldo’s six-pack, and the crowd frenzy whenever he makes an appearance on or off the field.

The film goes back and forth between Ronaldo’s earlier days and his recent successes. A die-heard fan might want more insight into his big-time matches, but there are few here to relish, but the film is great overall. I would fully recommend it to any fan to delve into the life of one of the greatest footballers.

This film shows a side of Ronaldo that most of us didn’t know about. If you are a sports lover and more so a football fan who has watched this legend’s every move, you must have this DVD in your collection.