5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest player in UEFA Champions League history

Cristiano Ronaldo poses after winning his fifth Champions League title in 2018.
Cristiano Ronaldo poses after winning his fifth Champions League title in 2018.

#3: Cristiano Ronaldo's unflinching consistency in the Champions League

Even at 35, Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong.
Even at 35, Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong.

One of Cristiano Ronaldo's greatest traits has been his remarkable consistency throughout his career, particularly in the Champions League.

The Portuguese international won his first Golden Boot in the competition way back in 2008 when he fired Manchester United to the Champions League title in Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Remarkably, exactly a decade later, he achieved this feat for the sixth consecutive time and seventh overall when his 15 goals at the age of 33 helped Real Madrid win their record-extending 13th Champions League title.

Between 2011 and 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo hit double figures in goals for seven consecutive seasons. No player in the history of the Champions League has come close to matching Cristiano Ronaldo's consistency in the Champions League, putting him on a pedestal above everybody else in the competition's history.

#2: Cristiano Ronaldo has peerless records in the Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo rejoices after scoring a Champions League goal for Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo rejoices after scoring a Champions League goal for Juventus.

Cristiano Ronaldo's exceptional individual performances in the Champions League have ensured that he has etched his name in the rich annals of the competition's history, setting several records along the way.

To date, he is the only player to score in three Champions League finals. Cristiano Ronaldo has the most match wins in competition history (105).

He has the most knockout goals in the Champions League(65); nobody else has scored even 50. He is the only player to score 15 goals in a seasons on two separate occasions and is the only player to score in 11 consecutive Champions League games.

Among his other notable records in the competition, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to score in all six Champions League group stage games in a season.

#1: Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer in Champions League history

Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer in Champions League history.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer in Champions League history.

With 128 goals and counting, Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way in goalscoring in the Champions League. He is the first player in competition history to score 100 goals and to do so with one club; both feats have since been emulated only by Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo's seven Golden Boots in the UEFA Champions League are significantly more than anyone else has managed, while he also holds several other scoring records in the competition.

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