Cristiano Ronaldo has been sent off around 12 times in his professional career for club and country, based on the most widely cited records up to 2024.

Quick Scoop

Most detailed breakdowns of how many red cards does Ronaldo have agree on a tally of 12 career red cards, including both straight reds and second yellow cards. These sendings-off are spread across his spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al Nassr, and the Portugal national team.

Red card breakdown

Reported career totals usually describe his record like this.

[3][1] [1][3] [3][1] [1][3] [6]
Team Approx. red cards
Manchester United 4 red cards.
Real Madrid 6 red cards.
Juventus 1 red card.
Al Nassr 1 red card (e.g., 2024 Saudi Super Cup vs Al Hilal).
Portugal At least 1 widely discussed sending off in recent qualifiers.

Why the number can vary in discussions

  • Some lists count only club red cards, others include international matches, which is why fans sometimes quote slightly different totals when asking how many red cards does Ronaldo have.
  • New sendings-off in late‑career competitions (like Saudi tournaments or World Cup qualifiers) can push the total up, so more recent forum and video discussions sometimes mention 12+ incidents, or even talk about a possible 13th red card in highlights compilations.

Forum & trending context

  • Football forums in late 2025 joke that they have “lost track” of how many red cards does Ronaldo have since he moved to Saudi Arabia, reflecting how often his dismissals become talking points even though they are still rare compared with his total games.
  • A popular narrative is that, for someone who has played over 1,000 professional matches, roughly 12 red cards is not considered a huge disciplinary problem, especially given how often he is fouled and how physical defenders are with him.

Bottom line: If you need one clear figure to quote right now, the most consistent answer is that Cristiano Ronaldo has about 12 career red cards in total.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.