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Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut as a wide-eyed 17-year-old for Sporting Lisbon in a Champions League qualifying round match against Inter Milan in 2002. And now he has played his 1000th competitive game for club and country, in a Serie A match for Juventus at SPAL.
During the course of his stellar career, Ronaldo has made appearances for four different clubs in four different countries, apart from featuring 164 times in international football for Portugal.
The 35-year-old Portugal captain marked the occasion by scoring his 626th goal in club football. In the process, he equaled the Serie A record held by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella for scoring in 11 consecutive games in the competition.
Ronaldo is the all-time record scorer for Real Madrid (450 goals) and for 2016 Euro champions Portugal (for whom he has scored 99 times).
With the Juventus talisman displaying little signs of slowing down, let us have a look at 5 memorable Ronaldo performances in club and international football:
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#1 Premier League 2008-09: Manchester United 6-0 Newcastle United
One of two active players with over 50 hat-tricks in club and international football, Ronaldo scored the first competitive hat-trick of his career for Manchester United in a 2008-09 Premier League game against Newcastle United.
The Portuguese sensation opened the scoring with a free-kick four minutes into the second half. He then doubled his tally for the evening midway through the half as United opened up a convincing 3-0 lead at Old Trafford.
The treble moment arrived two minutes from time when Ronaldo's low effort went in off Newcastle defender Jose Enrique. It would be the only time he scored thrice in a game during a six-season stint at the English club.
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#2 LaLiga 2010-11: Real Madrid 6-1 Racing Santander
In the early days of the 2010-11 LaLiga season, Real Madrid needed to respond against Racing Santander to keep pace with league leaders Barcelona.
After Gonzalo Higuain provided the early lead to the home side, there was no looking back for Madrid. Ronaldo grabbed a quickfire double to all but end the game as a contest.
The former Manchester United man completed his first hat-trick of the season two minutes into the second period. And just before the hour mark, he converted a penalty to complete his first quadruple in European league football.
The Portugal international could have grabbed a fifth in the dying moments of the game but it was not to be. The Madrid giants eventually closed out a facile 6-1 home win.
#3 Champions League 2012-13: Ajax 1-4 Real Madrid
In his 82nd Champions League game, Ronaldo bagged his first hat-trick in the competition. He scored thrice for Real Madrid on Matchday 2 of the 2012-13 season.
Having scored in Los Blancos' opening day win over Manchester City, the forward netted his second Champions League goal of the season in as many games by opening the scoring on the cusp of half-time in Amsterdam.
After Ajax reduced arrears to 1-2 in the second half, Ronaldo scored twice in the last 11 minutes of the game to record his first of a record-equaling eight Champions League hat-tricks. Madrid won 4-1 on the night.
#4 2018 FIFA World Cup: Portugal 3-3 Spain
In an entertaining group clash at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Ronaldo scored from the spot to give Portugal a fourth-minute lead against Spain in Sochi.
After Diego Costa restored parity for the 2010 champions, Ronaldo gave Portugal the lead once again by scoring in the 44th minute. The 2016 Euro winners led 2-1 at half-time.
Costa pegged Portugal back for the second time in the match and Nacho scored three minutes later, as Spain led for the first time in the game. However, a superb free-kick by Ronaldo two minutes from time helped restore parity for Portugal.
The prolific marksman had registered his first hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup, and in the process became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the quadrennial competition.
#5 Champions League 2018-19: Juventus 3-0 Atletico Madrid
Trailing 0-2 from the first leg of their Round of 16 clash with Atletico Madrid in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League, Juventus needed to look no further than their Portuguese marksman for inspiration.
Two headers either side of the half-time break tripled his Champions League goal-tally for his new club as they restored parity for the first time in the tie. The Portugal captain then entered Bianconeri folklore by converting from the spot eight minutes from time; that give Juventus a 3-2 aggregate lead, which they defended manfully.
With his first treble for his new club, Ronaldo equaled Lionel Messi's record of most hat-tricks in the Champions League (8) and also became the oldest player to net a hat-trick in the competition.
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