Why is Cristiano Ronaldo known as “C罗” in Chinese? I see Cristiano Ronaldo is often referred as C罗 in Chinese. I find it curious because:


This is not a nickname pattern followed in any other player name, and
罗 isn't even part of the full name transliteration 基斯坦奴·朗拿度, which would have led to a shorter name.


How did C罗 originated or why it is called like this?
C for Cristiano
罗 for 罗纳尔多 (Ronaldo)




Apparently before him:


Ronaldo (罗纳尔多) (Luís Nazário de Lima) was known as 大罗
Ronaldinho (罗纳尔迪尼奥) was called 小罗


So, with big (大) and little (小) already taken, the first letter of his first name was given to him instead.



As for 朗 vs. 罗:

It seems that 朗 is Cantonese (Hong Kong, Macao) while 罗 is Mandarin (Mainland, Singapore, Taiwan).