“The Costa Rican player Yeltsin Tejeda is named after the former Russian president. Are there any other footballers named after politicians?” asks Peter Strang. “Perhaps a Tony Blair or a Ronald Reagan plying their trade in Serie B …”
“Please can I be one of the no doubt thousands of people to point out that Cristiano Ronaldo was named after Ronald Reagan and has done a bit better for himself than playing in Serie B?” writes Chris Matterface. Indeed, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was named in part after the 40th US president. “My parents named me after him because they both liked this name and thought it sounded strong – my father admired him,” Ronaldo told GQ in 2016 (hat-tip to Sean McHugh).
