Fans are only just realising who Cristiano Ronaldo is named after

Cristiano Ronaldo once revealed that his parents named him after a former US president because they "thought it sounded strong".

Born on February 5, 1985, little Cristiano arrived into the world, just a month after Ronald Reagan had been sworn in for his second term in the White House.

Reagan, who was also an actor that starred in many movies, including Dark Victory, All-American and Kings Row, was admired by Ronaldo's father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, and his mother, Maria Dolores Aveiro.

Speaking in an interview with GQ, five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo said: "My parents named me after him because they both liked this name and thought it sounded strong. I know that my father admired him."

Fernao Barros Sousa, who played alongside Ronaldo's father at Madeira-based club Andorinha, confirmed that Ronaldo's mother was a fan of Reagan.

Sousa mentioned Maria's appreciation for Reagan as he discussed Ronaldo's baptism.

"That day, Andorinha were playing in Ribera Brava, so I was going there, Dinis as well, and we arrived much later at the baptism, so late that the priest didn’t want to baptise him!" he told GOAL.

"We had to convince the priest to baptise him and that’s what happened."

He added: "There are stories from his mother that the name is because of Ronald Reagan, who was president of the USA at that time. His mother liked him and it seems that’s why they gave him the name Cristiano Ronaldo."

Image credit: Getty

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the story around Ronaldo's name.

One said: "The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is named after Ronald Reagan haunts me," while another wrote: "This came up in a trivia game tonight and I'm absolutely shook."

A third wrote: "Cristiano Ronaldo being named after Ronald Reagan is so odd lmfao."

A fourth added: "Bro why does nobody talk about how Ronaldo is named after Ronald Reagan."