Record Breaking Signing
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 from Manchester United for a then record breaking £80 million. It was a signing that changed the world of football. An unbelievable 85 000 fans flocked to the Santiago Bernabeu on a Monday night to see the official unveiling of Ronaldo.
“Good evening, I am going to speak to you like a friend who is very happy to be here. This is the completion of my boyhood dream, to be a Real Madrid player.”
It was a dawn of a new era. Ronaldo vs Messi. Little did we know at the time that these two would push themselves to unimaginable heights to beat one other in La Liga. Everyone had thought that football had lost its way that one player could cost so much. £80 million?! If you take a look back Real Madrid probably have never made a better signing.
Raul at the time had the famous number 7 which we now associate Ronaldo with, so Cristiano had to make do with the number 9. Ronaldo signed a six-year £200,000-a-week contract at the time.
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2009-2010
Rolando’s first season probably didn’t go according to how he wished it could have as it ended trophy-less. But it was not all doom and gloom as he was able to score 33 goals in all competitions during the season including scoring in his first 4 league fixtures with the club, the first Madrid player to do so. He came second to Messi for the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award while also picking a seven week ankle injury.
So not that start he might have dreamed of, but he was up and running and making his mark.
2010-2011
Ronaldo was able to turn out in his second season with the number 7 on his back after then club captain Raul left the club. This season he would go on to break the 50 goal mark for a season. Ronaldo was able to pick up his first trophy in Spain when he scored the match-winning goal in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final.
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He ended his second season at Real Madrid with a total of 53 goals in all competitions while picking up European Golden Shoe for a second time, becoming the first player to win the award in two different leagues.
2011-2012
Hello 60 goals across all competitions in one season! Ronaldo was once again runner up to Messi for the Ballon d’Or. But he was able to help Real Madrid win their first La Liga title in 4 years with a record 100 points tally.
2012-2013
What better way to start the season than personally helping to beat Barcelona to win the Supercopa de España with a goal in each leg. Unfortently that’s where it ended as Real failed to win another trophy and Messi would once again have the last laugh as he beat Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time. Ronaldo became the first non-Spanish player in 60 years to captain Madrid in El Clásico on 30 January.
Real Madrid finished runners up for La Liga to Barcelona and the Copa del Rey to Atletico Madrid, the latter which saw Ronaldo score the opener only to be shown a red card in extra time for violent conduct.
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In the first knockout round of the Champions League, Ronaldo faced his former club Manchester United for the first time. Welcomed back as a hero by the Old Trafford faithful. A match I’m sure all United fans remember. Well as we know, Ronaldo went on to score against his former side and looked more upset about it than the fans did. Real Madrid were knocked out the Champions League semi-final.
2013-2014
The season of Rolando.
At the end of last season there was a lot of speculation around his future with a return to Manchester United on the cards. But Sir Alex decided to retire and Ronaldo subsequently signed a new 3 year deal to make him the highest paid footballer on the planet.
The arrival of Bale meant that Ronaldo was no longer the most expensive signing in the world. But not one to be outshone, Ronaldo responded by scoring 32 goals from 22 matches for both club and country by November of 2014. He ended the season with 69 goals in 59 appearances as well as winning his second Ballon d’Or. He ended as the leagues top scorer with 31 goals in 30 league games.
It was not only a season for individual achievement, but that of Real Madrids too as they won the La Décima, their tenth European Cup. Real Madrid also won the Copa del Rey beating Barcelona.
2014-2015
Ronaldo went on to score 61 goals in all competitions this season which saw him win a successive Ballon d’Or (his third). He scored both goals in Real Madrid’s 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup and become the fastest player in the Spanish league to reach 200 goals.
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2015-2016
Record breaking.
Ronaldo became the club’s all-time league top scorer when his tally in La Liga hit 230 goals in 203 games, surpassing the club’s previous record holder Raúl. He then become the all-time clubs top scorer in all competitions a month later. Not stopping there Ronaldo also become the top scorer in the Champions League. Ronaldo become the leagues second highest goal scorer when he scored his 252nd goal in La Liga, only behind Messi.
Real Madrid would go on to win their first of three successive Champions League titles.
2016-2017
Another season. Another new 3-year contract. On 15 December, Ronaldo scored his 500th club career goal. Ronaldo finished as the FIFA Club World Cup top scorer with four goals and was also named the best player of the tournament as real Madrid went on to win it. Ronaldo picked up his 4th Ballon d’Or thanks to his success with Portugal as they won the 2016 Euros.
In the 2017 Champions League final against Juventus, he scored two goals to lead his side to victory and became the top goalscorer for the fifth-straight season, and sixth overall, with 12 goals, while also becoming the first person to score in three finals in the Champions League era as well as reaching his 600th senior career goal.
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2017-2018
Final season.
Ronaldo would start his connection with Juventus fans early when he scored an acrobatic bicycle kick that got him a standing ovation from the Juventus faithful. That goal was also his 119th in European competitions, more than 465 other clubs which have participated in the competition if you can believe it.
He finished as the top scorer of the Champions League for the sixth consecutive season, ending the campaign with 15 goals and helping Real Madrid to 3 consecutive Champions League titles.
Last word
At the age of 33 we all probably think that we have seen the best of Cristiano Ronaldo, but have you ever tried telling Ronaldo he’s past it? Ronaldo loves a challenge and loves nothing more than proving people wrong. I expect him to go to Juventus and do incredible things there. But alas, it just won’t quite be the same. Suddenly La Liga is missing something. Who will step up to rival Messi? With no Ronaldo how will El Clásico‘s be the same? Love him or hate, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers to have graced the football pitch and his time in Madrid showed just what a special player he is.
I am sure that Real Madrid will spend big to replace the void left by him rather than entrusting Bale or Asensio to step up. But you do feel that no matter who they get to replace Ronaldo, Real Madrid will be worse off. While Juventus fans can shout ontop of the rooftops and make sure that they get their season tickets as Ronaldo doesn’t look like slowing anytime soon and with a 4 year contract signed and sealed, this could be the spark Italian football needed to become a World giant once again.
So lets all strap in and see what Ronaldo will do in Italy and take a moment to appreciate what he achieved in Spain…
The unbelievable statistics of Ronaldo’s time in Madrid:
- Ronaldo’s Real Madrid-record goal tally saw him score an incredible 450 goals in 438 games.
- He scored 105 Champions League goals for the club
- He won 4 Champions League titles with Real Madrid, including the last three in succession.
- He scored 311 goals in LaLiga.
- He won 2 LaLiga titles
- He won 16 major trophies with the club, also including two domestic cups, two domestic and three European Super Cups and three Club World Cups.
- He won 4 Ballon d’Or awards with Real Madrid
- He scored 44 hat-tricks for Real Madrid including a club-record 34 in LaLiga.
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Titles at Real Madrid
La Liga:
2011–12, 2016–17
Copa del Rey:
2010–11, 2013–14
Supercopa de España:
2012, 2017
UEFA Champions League:
2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
UEFA Super Cup:
2014, 2017
FIFA Club World Cup:
2014, 2016, 2017