The former Red Devil helped Los Blancos to a series of titles including four Champions League trophies, two La Liga crowns, two Copa del Reys and two Spanish Super Cups during a nine-year spell at the Bernabeu and ultimately left the club as their all-time leading goalscorer with 451 goals under his belt.
Today, the 34-year-old continues to inspire a generation of fans and players with his tireless efforts for Juventus and Portugal, guiding both teams to varied successes while breaking multiple individual records in the process.
On that note, we take a look at ten of the several records that were either broken, equalled or set by Ronaldo this decade:
#1 All-time top scorer in European competitions
It comes as no surprise that Ronaldo has been nicknamed ‘The Champions League Man’ considering the sheer efficiency with which he terrorises his opponents in the European competition.
The forward boasts of being the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 129 goals in 167 combined appearances for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
The Bianconeri talisman is closely followed by Barcelona ace Lionel Messi, who has so far tallied 114 goals in 140 games, and Real Madrid icon Raul, who registered 71 goals in 142 games in the competition.
#2 The only player to have won all individual and team honours at two different clubs
Ronaldo is the only player in history to have won all individual and team accolades with two different teams, having done so at both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
The Portuguese ace has won the Champions League, domestic league, domestic cup, domestic Super Cup, Ballon d’Or, World Player of the Year, Golden Boot, and World Club Championship at both clubs in the course of his illustrious career.
The only player who came close to the record was Zinedine Zidane, who almost won every honour with Juventus and Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Argentine skipper Lionel Messi has only achieved the feat at Barcelona.
Also check out: Seria A table Champions League table Champions league top scorers
#3 Only player to score 50+ goals for six consecutive seasons
Ronaldo has long cemented his status as one of football’s greatest ever goalscorers with efficiency and consistency that is unmatched by any player except perhaps Messi.
The 34-year-old has proven this fact by becoming the only player in history to have scored at least 50 goals in six consecutive seasons for a club. He netted more than 50 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid between 2010 and 2016 and has since seen no competitors for the record.
The closest any player came to equalling the record was Messi who managed to score at least 50 goals in three consecutive seasons for Barcelona.
Seasons during which Ronaldo scored at least 50 goals:
2010/11: 54 appearances, 53 goals
2011/12: 55 appearances, 60 goals
2012/13: 55 appearances, 55 goals
2013/14: 47 appearances, 51 goals
2014/15: 54 appearances, 61 goals
2015/16: 48 appearances, 51 goals
#4 The first player in history to win the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A
While Ronaldo’s debut Serie A campaign has been deemed underwhelming by his standards, it could also be considered successful for a host of other reasons. Not only did he help Juventus to an eighth consecutive Scudetto but the victory made him the first player ever to win league titles in three of Europe’s top five leagues.
The Portugal international won three Premier League titles during his time with Manchester United (2006-07 to 2008-09), two La Liga titles during his nine-year spell with Real Madrid (2011-12 and 2016-17) and one Serie A crown in his debut season with Juventus (2018-19).
#5 Most consecutive Ballon d’Or nominations
Messi may be the player with the most Ballon d’Or wins but Ronaldo has etched his name in the award’s history books as the only player to have been nominated for the coveted prize 16 consecutive times.
The Juventus ace has been consecutively nominated for the award since 2004 and still remains a firm favourite in the present day. No other player can boast of such a consistent reign over the award since it was launched in 1956, with the closest competitor being Messi, who has been nominated 14 consecutive times.
#6 Joint highest hat-trick scorer in the Champions League
After enduring a slow start for Juventus in their 2018-19 Champions League campaign, Ronaldo earned the respect of the Bianconeri faithful by saving the Italian giants from elimination with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Round of 16 fixture.
His goalscoring exploits helped the Old Lady overturn their two-goal deficit against the Madrid giants to progress to the quarter-finals of the European competition with a 3-2 aggregate win.
The hat-trick further helped the 34-year-old equal Lionel Messi’s record for the most hat-tricks in the Champions League (8) and also made him the joint-oldest player to score a hat-trick in the competition, with the other player being Claudio Pizarro who scored for Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 season.
#7 Highest goalscorer in European qualifying history
After guiding Portugal to the European Championship back in 2016, Ronaldo kicked off his country’s title defence this year by helping them secure a place in the 2020 edition of the tournament.
The 34-year-old skipper netted in all six of their final qualifiers for the Euros this year, including four goals against Lithuania, which helped him smash Robbie Keane’s record as the highest goalscorer in European qualifying history.
While the Irishman recorded a tally of 23 goals, Ronaldo went on to register 31 goals in 35 games for his national team in the qualifying stage of the competition.
The Juventus marksman will hope to increase his overall tally (99 goals) in the European Championship as he looks to fire them to a consecutive title next summer.
#8 Most wins in the Champions League
Shortly after legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas set the record for the most wins in the UEFA Champions League, Porto failed to qualify for the competition which means the former Real Madrid man did not feature in the elite European tournament for the first time in 20 years.
Ronaldo took due advantage of the opportunity and surpassed the shot-stopper’s record of 101 victories in the competition by helping Juventus establish a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen back in October.
His goal during the game also helped him equal Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez’s record of scoring against 33 different opponents in the competition.
#9 Player with the most UEFA trophies
After starring in the European Championship back in 2016, Ronaldo once again showed his leadership capabilities by helping his national team lift the inaugural UEFA Nations League title earlier this summer.
The victory made the former Real Madrid man the player with the most number of wins in UEFA competitions in history. He became the first-ever player to win ten UEFA trophies which include five Champions League crowns, three UEFA Super Cups, one European Championship medal, and one UEFA Nations League title.
#10 Most goals in Champions League knockout stages
Besides his all-time top-scorer status in the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo also boasts of being the highest goalscorer in the knockout stages of the competition with a total of 65 goals.
Proving once again that he is a man for big occasions, the Juventus talisman has scored 13 of those goals in the semi-finals and 25 of them in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Portuguese sensation is also the first player in history to score 40, 50 and 60 goals in the knockout stages of the European tournament.
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