Cristiano Ronaldo – Been there, done that (51 goals in 54 appearances for club and country)
While Messi and Griezmann suffered heartbreaks on the biggest of stages, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who cemented his place as arguably the greatest Portuguese footballer of all time, having inspired them to their maiden European Championship win. A feat even the great Eusebio or Figo failed to achieve.
However, his exact contribution in the final is debatable given he was injured midway through the first-half and had to be substituted. In his defence, he did have an undeniable presence on the touchline inspiring his teammates and also giving them instructions after being withdrawn.
But before making Portugal realise their dream of winning a major international honour, he first inspired Real Madrid to their 11th European Cup win with a penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid in the final – where the Portuguese buried the final and the most important spot-kick. He amassed a total of 16 goals in the Champions League last season – an all-time record.
Ronaldo’s heroics in front of goal also meant that Los Blancos were in the La Liga title race up until the last game of the season, when they needed Barcelona to drop points if they were to win the title from right under their noses. Alas, it was not meant to be.
