974 kilometers from Lisbon and the Portuguese mainland, in the island of Madeira, stands a museum dedicated to the country’s biggest hero. A 10-foot tall bronze statue of Cristiano Ronaldo outside a museum towers over the visitors and it has a plaque at the bottom that says: Melhor Jogador do Mundo – Best Player in the World.
It’s enough to rile up fans of Barcelona and Lionel Messi but, before they whip out Ballon d’Or stats, one must know that this is Ronaldo’s very own CR7 museum. The debate over who the best player in the world is one that will never be settled. Pele and Maradona fought for that honour in the last century and the jury is still out on Messi vs Ronaldo.
However, there is no question that when it comes to European football; Ronaldo currently rules the roost.
A second Champions League win in three years has added credence to the Real Madrid forward’s legacy of being one of the greatest in the modern era. The Euro 2016 win was the feather in his cap with a lifelong dream that almost threatened to crash and burn when he was stretchered off in tears midway through the first half of the final.
Now, fully recovered, he has already opened his account for the 2016/17 season, scoring in the 5-2 rout of Osasuna with literally his first touch of the game. The celebration with Gareth Bale only underlined how much closer the pair have become in recent times.
Ronaldo is 31 while Bale is 27. There’s no question that the Welshman is the future. Ronaldo also understands that and has encouraged his teammate – especially now that he owns almost all the goalscoring records available to him.
But come Wednesday night, he begins a campaign where he sets his sights on a new and previously unimaginable landmark – 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League.
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Goalscoring records were Ronaldo’s breakfast
In 2015, Real Madrid’s then-highest goalscorer Raul mentioned in an interview that Ronaldo was already one of the best players in the history of the game. “I am sure Ronaldo will beat my club record for goals, and I will be happy for him,” he had said.
Sure enough, the new owner of the no.7 shirt went ahead of the club legend – incredibly, in less than half the number of games. Raul took 741 games to score 323 goals. Ronaldo achieved it in 310!
He didn’t just stop there. His hunger for goals was never satiated. He finished the Champions League season one goal short of his own 2013/14 record of 17 goals in a single campaign. 11 goals came in the group stage – a new record. He has not scored less than 10 goals a season in Europe since 2011.
He has scored 44 goals in the knockout stages. Only five players, including himself, have scored 50 or more goals in the Champions League overall!
But Messi matched his goalscoring rate every step of the way. Raul was soon left behind in the dust, his old record of 71 Champions League goals no longer an unconquerable summit but a base camp for stars of the future.
And then Messi’s injuries saw him sidelined for many a game which allowed Ronaldo to surge ahead unchallenged. Ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, he now stands at 94 goals – 11 more than Messi.
Drawn in a group that also has the likes of Borussia Dortmund, his former club Sporting Club de Portugal and Legia Warsaw, one would not put it past him to at least score against the latter two. He has never failed to score against his former clubs, having scored against both Sporting and Manchester United in recent years.
He is wary of the Dortmund threat, though. “We've played Borussia Dortmund in this competition before – and lost,” he said, referring to the 2013 semi-final that saw the Bundesliga side hand Jose Mourinho his biggest defeat in over 100 Champions League games.
However, Los Blancos looks sharp this season. They already sit top of La Liga with a 100% win record and also top the goalscoring charts with 10 goals in three games. The signs are ominous.
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Will Ronaldo hold on to the record?
One would never bet against Ronaldo breaching the 100-goal barrier. Most players don’t even get to take 100 shots in the Champions League, let alone score 100 goals. It is the toughest club competition in the world and perhaps that is why the plaque that says ‘Best Player in the World’ is installed at the statue’s feet.
However, while Ronaldo shows no signs of stopping – having averaged 55 goals a season in the past six years – his arch-rival still has two years on him. Messi is 29 and looks better placed to make the record his own in the long run.
But the Portuguese star’s carefully chiselled body probably puts those that belong to players at their peak to shame. He will find a way to endure, he will find a way to adapt. He may have lost that yard of pace on the flanks that terrorised Premier League defences and La Liga in the early years, his free kicks may not be as lethal as they used to be – but his eye for goal remains keen as ever.
Messi’s goalscoring rate has declined in recent years. With the arrival of Neymar and Luis Suarez, the burden is no longer on him to score goals and he has turned provider. But at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo still reigns supreme as the alpha dog. With the transfer ban on the club, fans can rest assured that he will not be sold to make a quick buck just yet.
Nobody knows where the duo will end up when they eventually hang up their boots. But one thing is for sure, nobody else is going to challenge the words on that plaque for a long time to come.
| # | Player | Goals | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 94 | 127 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 83 | 106 |
| 3 | Raul | 71 | 142 |
| 4 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 56 | 73 |
| 5 | Thierry Henry | 50 | 112 |
