Cristiano Ronaldo is a football player who plays currently for Manchester United and Portugal National team. At 36 years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo has played for top clubs like Sporting CP, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a five-time Ballon d'Or winner and FIFA world player of the year in 2008. He has won 5 Champions League trophies at the club level and won the UEFA Euro 2016 with the National team.
When it comes to the greatest of all time in Football, two names come to our mind. One is Cristiano Ronaldo and another name is Lionel Messi. There was, there is and there will always be a debate between Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's fans on who is the greatest of all time.
In this article, I'm going to list five reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is considered the greatest of all time.
1. Five-time Ballon d'Or winner
The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by the French news magazine France Football. Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or with Manchester United. He moved to Real Madrid the following year and could not replicate his previous success. So, for the next four years from 2009 to 2012, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or and Cristiano Ronaldo's success was considered a one-time wonder.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo proved this wrong and won back-to-back Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. He won the award again in 2016 and 2017. Cristiano Ronaldo knows exactly how to bounce back from a failure and winning the Ballon d'Or award at 32 years of age is proof of that.
Now, at 36 years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing at the top level and working to win his next Ballon d'Or award.
Links referred: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#Honours
2. Five-time UEFA Champions League winner
On 26th May 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player in football history to win five Champions League trophies. He was playing with Real Madrid and they defeated Liverpool 3-1 to win the Champions League trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo has previously won the trophy four times, once with Manchester United and thrice with Real Madrid. He won the first Champions League trophy with Manchester United in 2008. With Real Madrid, He won it in 2014, 2016,2017, and 2018.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also the first player to win the trophy three consecutive times with Real Madrid in 2016,2017, and 2018. He is called Mr. Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who never settles down. His former coaches say "He is the first player to enter the training ground and the last one to leave". This determination helped him succeed at the top level.
Links referred: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#Honours
3. Age is just a number
On April 4 of 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines as he scored a stunning bicycle kick to score a goal for his team Real Madrid against Juventus in the quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo was 33 at that time. Critics have been questioning his age and Ronaldo gave it back in style.
Even the opponent fans applauded Ronaldo for his effort and below is the clip of it. Zinedine Zidane was the manager of Real Madrid and his reaction to Ronaldo's goal says it all.
One and a half years later, Cristiano Ronaldo was playing for Juventus and this time he scored an incredible header against Sampdoria on December 19, 2019.
It looked like Cristiano Ronaldo was jumping 4-5 feet and he was in the air for almost 10 seconds to connect the ball with his head and scored a goal.
Teammates of Cristiano Ronaldo have stated that Ronaldo trains like an animal and these types of goals prove those statements.
4. Superstar, on and off the field
Cristiano Ronaldo is a superstar on the field. But, he has proved he is a superstar off the field also on multiple occasions.
In 2014, during a press conference, a young Japanese fan was given an opportunity to question Cristiano Ronaldo. The kid was speaking in Portuguese to Cristiano Ronaldo and struggled to make a sentence. Media people around began laughing at him. However, Cristiano Ronaldo defended the kid and criticized the media for not appreciating the kid for trying out a new language.
The kid introduced himself and questioned Ronaldo. "Good afternoon, my name is Ryota. My dream is to be a football player and have the pleasure of playing with you one day. What should I do to achieve that goal?
Ronaldo replied "belief, effort, and never missing your chance"
Seven years later, the kid won the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament which is considered as a top under-18 championship in Japan.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRzfAdgdx7w
In another instance, Cristiano Ronaldo after winning the European Golden Boot in 2011, auctioned it for 1.2 million. He donated the entire money towards building schools in Gaza.
5. Never Give Up
Cristiano Ronaldo, in August 2021 made a sensational return to Manchester United during the summer transfer window. Ronaldo returned almost after 12 years to Manchester United and he was given the number 7 shirt.
Ronaldo's return did wonders for the club not only in the field but also in social media. The official Manchester United Instagram account had 42.7 million followers prior to Ronaldo's announcement. Within 12 hours after Ronaldo's announcement, the number of followers increased by 2.5 million and stood at 45.2 million.
At 36 years of age, and due to the intensity of a premier league game, critics claimed Ronaldo may not shine as he was during his younger days. However, during his second debut for Manchester United, Ronaldo scored two goals to help his team win 4-1 against Newcastle United.
Links referred:
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/08/28/man-united-instagram-followers/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo#2021%E2%80%93present:_Return_to_Manchester_United
Conclusion
Cristiano Ronaldo is a name that will never be forgotten for the next hundred years. When I say hundred years, I mean it because I have never seen Brazilian football legends like Pele or Maradona play, but I have read about them and I have watched their videos. A huge thanks to technology.
It is going to be difficult for players of upcoming generations to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo as his success has been huge and tremendous. There are players like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland who are young and have the potential of becoming top players.
But, it is the consistency and hard work through which Cristiano Ronaldo has been outshining his competitors