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The history of professional sports is littered with men and women who have laid down their marker and cast their name in gold in their chosen fields and as such, it is a rather dicey situation to attempt to classify a particular athlete as being the best in history.
From Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt on the tracks to Serena Williams and Roger Federer on the tennis courts or even Michael Jordan and Lebron James on the Basketball court, it is extremely difficult to place one over the other as being greater, as each of these athletes can genuinely lay claim to being the greatest of all time in professional sports.
Even in our own beautiful game of football, the status of GOAT is very much open for debate, with modern followers still engaged in bitter arguments over who the better is between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The old-timers believe both men have cannot light a candle to the abilities of legends of the distant past like Diego Maradona, JohCruyffuff and the mythical Pele.
While it might almost be impossible to classify one athlete over the other due to differing eras and sports rules, we can only infer based on career paths and achievements. In this piece, with five reasons, we shall be making a compelling case for Ronaldo to be considered the greatest athlete in history across all professional sports.
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#5 Longevity at the top
Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Manchester United in 2003 and the club's mega status meant that the Portuguese teenager was thrust into the limelight instantly, with United's pedigree expecting the club to win all the matches and trophies which they contested for.
This is the pressure associated with being a top-level footballer playing on a world class level and it is a scenario which Ronaldo has found himself in since making that leap from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United aged 19.
Incredibly, the 34-year-old has not only thrived at the highest level but continues to do so even into the fourth decade of his life.
The average footballer (other sports included) spends an average of five to seven years at the highest level before they start to take a decline, but Ronaldo seems to be an anomaly, not only defying this logic but seemingly getting better with age.
Ronaldo turned 34 a few days ago, but continues to not only perform at the highest level but also outperform those even much younger than him.
Despite playing in his fourth professional league, Ronaldo currently finds himself top of the scorer's charts in Serie A, while he has also broken a number of records as he leads the charge to guide Juventus to her eighth consecutive Scudetto triumph.
Only a handful of athletes in any sport (arguably none in football) can claim to match the longevity Cristiano Ronaldo has had at the highest level and for this reason, he can genuinely lay claim to being the greatest athlete in the history of professional sports.
#4 Dedication and desire being the best
There is no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is neither the most naturally gifted nor most technically proficient player, a lot of his peers in his generation can comfortably beat him to that criteria.
However, what nobody can deny is that Ronaldo's drive and self-belief is miles ahead of anyone else possibly in the history of football, as the Portuguese had set a goal for himself to be the best in the world right from a tender age, working his socks off to see his dreams become a reality.
Not only has his dream of being the best player in the world has come to pass, but they have also been surpassed, as Ronaldo is right up there amongst the greatest in history.
Numerous teammates and coaches have attested to the Portuguese skipper's incredible dedication and hard work, with all bar none placing him at the top of lists of teammates who are the most dedicated in training.
There are a plethora of instances and stories highlighting his work ethic and even his most ardent critic has to be in awe of him and use him as a reference point for dedication and perseverance.
Perhaps the best illustration of this came in his rivalry with Lionel Messi. Once upon a time, Lionel Messi was the darling of football, winning four consecutive Ballon d'Ors and was seemingly the favourite of everyone including FIFA and UEFA at the time much to the chagrin of Ronaldo and his fans.
With the world seemingly on the side of his eternal rival, it seemed as though nothing Ronaldo ever did would quite be enough, which would have led the rest of us to call it quits and accept our fate as second fiddle.
However, Ronaldo is not quite like the rest of us, with it hardwired into his brain never to settle for less when he can have it all. As a result, he kept on working hard and some more and not only equalled a once seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead, but also appears to be in a position to take the lead in the personal battle with the Argentinian hitman.
It has been an age-long argument over which is more important between talent and hard work, but with Cristiano Ronaldo being an embodiment of the maxim that hard work beats talent, it is not far-reaching to suggest that he is the greatest athlete in history by virtue of his drive to outperform much more talented individuals through dedication.
#3 His drive
Not only is Cristiano Ronaldo extremely dedicated to his professionalism, but he also matches that with the drive to remain at the top which is arguably unmatchable anywhere in the world.
The five-time UEFA Champions League winner became the best player in the world in 2008, prompting a world record move to Real Madrid along with which came fame, fortune and power.
The Portuguese has evolved from being just a footballer into one of the most instantly recognizable faces in the world. A global brand whose endorsement is valued at millions of dollars, leading numerous global giants to want to be associated with the CR7 brand.
After a decade of being a global icon and doing it all, the normal human would have taken a backseat to revel in all that he/she has achieved (we have seen this countless times in other sports and fields) and Ronaldo would have been forgiven if he had decided to tow the same line.
At 34 and with all that he has achieved, the normal route would have been to head to a lesser league for one final major payday (numerous players with less achievements and abilities have done so), but it is simply not in Ronaldo's nature to settle for less.
Having conquered the international scene as well as the Premier League and La Liga, the legendary player turned his sights to lands unexplored, heading to the Serie A to attempt to rewrite the record books and he is doing so with much aplomb.
Despite having done everything achievable in football, Ronaldo continues to raise the bar high for himself, setting personal milestones for him to break and with his unmatchable drive to constantly raise the bar higher, it is hard to argue against Ronaldo being the GOAT.
#2 Professionalism
It is well known that Cristiano Ronaldo has extremely high performance levels, but what is not so well known is the amount of work and dedication put into reaching such heights.
Not only does he put in a lot of work on the training ground, but also off it, with Rio Ferdinand admitting that Ronaldo was the first player he saw who hired a personal trainer, nutritionist as well as personal chef in a bid to always keep in utmost shape to perform at the highest levels.
He is always the first to arrive at the training ground, as well as the last to leave, while his attention to detail when it comes to maintaining his fitness level is second to none, with reports emanating that his body fat is almost surreal, while he has the body and fitness of a 20-year-old (despite being 14 years older).
Ronaldo not only talks the talk as to being the best player in the world, but he also walks the walk and for this reason, he should be high up there as the greatest athlete in history.
#1 Quite simply; his performance levels
An athlete (or performer in any other field for that matter) cannot realistically claim to be the greatest in their field without a track record of excellence right? And it is here that Ronaldo also has the stats and achievements to back his claim.
With over 600 professional goals scored, the Portuguese is one of the greatest goalscorers in history, while he also holds records as the greatest goalscorer in the history of Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team as well as the international scene in Europe among others. He has an endless list of achievements and records in his name, something that not many can boast of.
Cristiano's numbers in front of goal are downright scary and the fact that he continues to bang in goals and make them look so easy defy imagination.
However, the five-time Ballon dOr winner's greatness lies just beyond goals, as he has also developed the knack for delivering when it matters the most, with the Juventus number 7 being among the biggest big game players in history.
Ronaldo's performance can only be matched by a handful throughout history in football and indeed any other sport and having conquered all and sundry in the round leather game, it is only logical for the mythical Portuguese to rub shoulders with the greats of other sports.
