Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling the love

Published On October 16, 2012 | By Jill Saftel

Superstar soccer/football player Cristiano Ronaldo put his name in the record books Monday, but it has nothing to do with scoring goals. According to NESN, Ronaldo became the first athlete to ever reach 50 million likes on Facebook.

To put in context just how staggering the figure is, Ronaldo’s fan base makes up five percent of all Facebook users. The 27-year-old thanked his fans with a post on his page:

“Reaching 50,000,000 likes is unbelievable … I want to thank you, you you, you and everyone who have been supporting me all these years. I really want us to keep sharing all the good moments together — and the best is still to come. THANK YOU ALL.”

Ronaldo, who plays for Portugal and Real Madrid, is blowing his fellow soccer stars out of the water. The next most-liked athlete is Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi who has 10 million less likes than the Portugal star. David Beckham follows in third place with 21 million.

Much of the love is warranted though, as Ronaldo is having fantastic seasons with both club and country. He’s scored 14 goals in 11 games for Real Madrid and will play his 100th game for Portugal on Tuesday, making him one of the youngest European stars to reach the 100-game milestone.

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About The Author

Jill studies journalism at Northeastern University, covers Hockey East for College Hockey News and is the sports editor for The Huntington News. You can follow her on Twitter at @jillsaftel, just don't ask her to choose between hockey and baseball, it's impossible.