At the ripe old age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo's career is surely drawing to a close. He has just completed a record-breaking sixth European Championship campaign, with his beloved Portugal ultimately suffering a heartbreaking quarterfinal exit at the hands of France. Now, he heads back off to Saudi Arabia for his club duties with Al Nassr.
Over the years, the iconic winger-turned-striker has delivered plenty of blockbuster displays. He's a five-time Balon d'Or winner and a five-time UEFA Champions League winner. No one in the history of the beautiful game has ever scored more international goals than CR7 and those facts are merely the tip of the iceberg. As he heads into his 22nd campaign as a professional, we decided to take a look into the history books and dig out the great man's best-ever seasons.
Record-Breaker
The 2016/17 season was nothing short of extraordinary for Cristiano Ronaldo, both individually and collectively, with Real Madrid. Online bookmaker DuelBits has made waves recently with their sports betting bonus offers on a plethora of sports, and they make Los Blancos the -244 betting favorites to win La Liga next term. But the club from the Spanish capital will have a hard time having a more successful campaign than they did, back when their all-time top scorer was at the peak of his powers.
Ronaldo headed back to the Bernabéu as a European Champion after leading Portugal to Euro 2016 glory in France, his country's first-ever major piece of silverware. And plenty more trophies were just around the corner. CR7 netted 42 goals in all competitions throughout the campaign, helping Los Blancos to the La Liga crown for the first time in five years. But it was on the continental stage where he shone the brightest.
Real Madrid headed into the 2016/17 season as the reigning Champions League holders, and they were about to become history makers. Ronaldo scored 12 goals in 13 games, including hat tricks in both the quarterfinal against Bayern Munich and the semifinal against Atlético Madrid. Then, in the final against Juventus, Ronny helped himself to a brace as the Spanish giants dispatched their Italian counterparts with relative ease, running out 4–1 victors.
The victory ensured that Real became the first team to successfully defend the European Cup in the Champions League era, while the domestic and continental double was the club's first in over three decades.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 2009 semi-finals 🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/eHxKzb40YS
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 5, 2024
The Rise of a Superstar
The 2007/08 season marked a significant turning point in Cristiano Ronaldo's career, as he emerged as a true superstar on the global stage. Playing for Manchester United under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Portuguese star displayed a level of performance that hinted at the greatness that was to come. He physically matured throughout the preseason and as such, underwent a huge transformation, evolving from a tricky winger into a complete attacking force.
Ronaldo's goal-scoring record throughout the campaign was something the Premier League had never seen before. He racked up a mighty 31 goals in the league alone, enough to tie Alan Shearer's long-standing record, with all sorts of goals whistling past goalkeepers with regular aplomb. It won't come as a surprise to hear, then, that the Red Devils ended the campaign as champions, but they were also on the hunt in Europe as well.
Led by the fearsome front three of Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez, United defeated Barcelona in a nail-biting semifinal to punch their tickets to Moscow and the first-ever all-English Champions League final against Chelsea. CR7 would bag the opening goal of the game but went from hero to zero as he missed his penalty in the shootout. Luckily for him, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar bailed him out, saving from Nicolas Anelka to take the trophy back to Old Trafford for the first time in nine years.