Here at The Athletic, we are acutely aware of our responsibilities to you, our dear readers. We attempt to go above and beyond in public service. Just this week, for example, we headed to four Premier League games in four days to gauge the feeling of fans and clubs heading into the new season.
We also scoured the country to tell poignant tales of lost football stadiums . Advertisement We have also, in surely the most arduous, soul-sapping task of them all, watched every single minute of every video on Cristiano Ronaldo ’s official new YouTube channel so that you don’t have to. Yep, we know.
You are welcome. The channel launched a few days ago and has already attracted more than 40 million subscribers at the time of writing — or, as they are referred to in Ronaldo’s videos, “siuuuubscribers”. That sound we can hear is your eyes rolling.
It is called UR Cristiano, i.e. you are Cristiano.
Which you aren’t, obviously, but he is, and he’s not the shyest of lads, so as you can imagine many of the 12 videos (and a number of ‘shorts’) posted so far showcase a brawny, unrelenting focus on just how unbelievably great he is. It’s not actually all about him. We also meet his partner Georgina (who you may or may not have previously discovered on her own Netflix series titled ‘I am Georgina’.
..there’s a theme here) and his eldest son, named Cristiano Ronaldo Jr (the least surprising name for a child you will ever hear).
But in general, it’s just the latest ste.