Cristiano Ronaldo has come to prove that age is just a number as he has successfully obliterated a number of records in the history of football while also setting new ones.
No gainsaying that records are meant to be broken, it is the manner the 36-year-old has consistently smashed them at an age where footballers are expected to wind down that makes them memorable.
The prolific forward who was born and bred in Madura in Portugal currently plays for Manchester United where he left to join Real Madrid in 2009.
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Although, his senior career began at Sporting CP, he came to limelight 18 years ago at Old Trafford where he grabbed his 1st Ballon d’ Or award.
Thenceforth, he has been smashing a number of records for his country side the same way he also heaped many records for his club sides and seldom does a week pass by without him breaking a new one.
For brevity however, Daily Report Nigeria has restricted itself to bringing to you the records broken and new ones set by Ronaldo in 2021 only.
10 Recoprds Broken by Christiano Ronaldo in 2021
1. Most number of Champions League appearances
In previous year(s), Ronaldo used to follow ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper, Iker Casillas in the list of players with the highest number of appearances in the European club tournaments.
However, Mr. Champions League, Ronaldo has now taken to the pitch 189 times to uproot Casillas’s record of 187 UEFA outings.
2. Most official goals in history
According to IFFHS, Ronaldo has emerged the most prolific male player in history having broken a record set so by the Brazilian legend, Pele.
The Portugal international has extirpated Pele’s goals which tallied 766 with his 802 goals, the most for any player in the history of football.
3. Most Euros tournaments played in
Undisputedly, the Navigators did not excel at the Euro 2020 and were seen wiped out by Thorgan Hazard’s Belgium. Yet, Ronaldo managed to register five goals and one assist in just four games to pick up a Golden Boot at the tournament.
Thus, Ronaldo has set the record of becoming the first player to have appeared in five consecutive Euros; 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.
4. Most goals at 2020 Euros tournaments
Michel Platini’s Euros record of 10 strikes has recently been ruined with Ronaldo’s 14 strikes which saw him on top of the list of the UEFA European Championships top scorers of all time.
5. Most caps for European international team
On the queue of this record, Ronaldo comes behind Soh Chin Ann who had 219 appearances for Malaysia after having overshadowed Sergio Ramos who has 181 representation for Spain.
6. Most national team goals in history
Ronaldo has also uprooted international goal-scoring record set by Ali Daei’s.
The Portugal captain had jointly held the record of 109 goals with the Iranian legend only for Ali’s effort to be sursprisingly erased with Ronaldo’s late double goals for Portugal against Republic of Ireland in the FIFA World Cup European Qualifier in September.
Increasingly, Ronaldo’s goal for his national team totalled 111 after the game and to 115 at the time of this report having grabbed another hat-trick against Luxembourg in October.
7. Most goals in Euro qualifiers and finals
The wizard, Ronaldo has also added a new record to his collection having broken Croatia’s top-scorer’s effort of Most goals in Euros qualifying matches and finals campaign.
Davor Suker had netted 15 goals before Ronaldo came from behind to score 11 goals in Euro 2020 qualifiers and an additional five strikes at the finals to a tally of 16 goals, one above Suker’s.
8. Most teams scored against in Champions League
Ronaldo also got his name in the history books as he reclaimed his record of scoring against highest number of teams in the Champions League through a late goal against Nigeria’s Chukwueze’s side (Villareal).
Lionel Messi had jointly shared the record with him when he (Messi) registered his 1st goal for Psg against Manchester City in September to match Ronaldo’s record of scoring against 36 teams in the Champions League.
However, Ronaldo’s goal against Unai Emery’s men gave him the upper hand as his record improved to goals against 37 different teams in the Champions League and that is the most of any player in the history of the tournament.
9. First player to score in five different Euros
Ronaldo has also made history of emerging the first player to score in five different Euros. To appear in a match does not insinuate scoring in the match, recall.
That said, the 36-year-old has not only appeared but has also netted in five iterations across Euro including his double goals at Euro 2004, single goal at Euro 2008, three goals at Euro 2012, another three at Euro 2016 and five at the last Euro of 2020.
10. First Player to Win Top Scorer Award & All Major Domestic Trophies in England, Spain, Italy
The former Sporting CP player has played for three different big clubs and three renowned leagues across Europe including Manchester United in England, Spanish La liga side, Real Madrid and lastly Juventus which competes in Serie ‘A’ league.
Having counted 34 major trophies to his name, Ronaldo eventually becomes the only player to win all domestic trophies in England, Spain and Italy.
