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Aged 26-31: Seasons 2011-12 to 2015-16
2011-12 saw Ronaldo capture his first La Liga title with Real Madrid, and it was a phenomenal season for him when it came to goalscoring, too; he hit an incredible total of 60 goals in 55 games across all competitions – averaging more than one per match – breaking his own personal best from the previous season. His goals included a winner against Barcelona in El Clasico, a hat-trick in the Madrid derby against city rivals Atletico, and his 100th La Liga goal.
The summer of 2012 saw him score three goals for Portugal at Euro 2012 – keeping up his incredible record of scoring goals in every international tournament he’d been involved in – but again, A Selecao fell in the semi-finals.
2012-13 turned out to be one of the Portuguese’s least fruitful seasons when it came to winning trophies; the Supercopa de Espana was Real’s only victory, although CR7 himself remained at peak form, scoring another 55 goals in all competitions. However, the following campaign would prove to be one of his very best.
December 2013 saw him awarded with the Ballon d’Or for the first time since 2008, and the trophy seemed to drive him on from there, as he scored 51 goals in 47 games, including a record-breaking 17 in the Champions League. Those goals helped Real to their 10th victory in the competition – nicknamed La Decima. The final saw him score from the penalty spot, making him the first player to score in two Champions League finals for different clubs.
2014’s World Cup saw him score his 50th international goal in a group match against Ghana – although he couldn’t stop Portugal falling at the first hurdle. At the age of 29, though, Ronaldo was at his absolute peak at this point, seemingly able to score against any opponent at any level.
It came as no surprise then when the Portuguese scored 61 goals in the 2014-15 season, breaking his personal best again. Ronaldo also retained the Ballon d’Or in December 2014, but the season turned out to be fruitless for him in terms of trophies; Real failed to win a single one across the entire campaign.
2015-16 made up for that, though; Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s highest ever goalscorer in all competitions, and with 252 goals in La Liga, became the second-highest scorer in that competition’s history behind the great Lionel Messi, and with another 16 goals in the Champions League, became that competition’s record goalscorer too.
Ronaldo ended the season with another 51 goals, and helped Los Blancos to win another Champions League title, before finally capturing international glory in the summer at Euro 2016. CR7 scored his 59th, 60th and 61st international goals in that tournament and although he was injured during the final, it was his impromptu coaching role that helped to inspire his team to win their first major tournament.
