2 weeks Ago By Jack Johnson
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goalscorer in football history. The Portuguese icon’s ability to find the back of the net can be matched by no other and that is why he is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Throughout his whole career, Ronaldo has set scoring records, and that has not stopped since heading to Saudi Arabia and joining Al Nassr.
He is thriving in the Middle East at the age of 39 after glittering spells with Sporting Lisbon , Manchester United , Real Madrid and Juventus . The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored the most goals ever in the Champions League while also wearing the crown for the most goals ever in the European Championships. He recently passed 900 career goals and has eyes fixed on hitting 1,000 before he retires.
Here is a full breakdown of Ronaldo’s career record...
Ronaldo began his football career playing youth football in Portugal. He played for Andorinha, where his father was a kitman, between 1992 and 1995 before joining Nacional. His talent was clear to see and he was offered a trial at Sporting Lisbon at the age of 12.
The Portuguese giants decided to sign him up for their youth system and the rest is history. By the age of 17, Ronaldo was already featuring for the Sporting Lisbon first team. He featured in a Champions League qualifying round game against Inter Milan before making his Primera Liga debut in September 2002.
The forward only scored five goals and provided six assists during his time in Lisbon, however, he had some major suitors. Following Sporting’s 3-1 defeat to Man United, Sir Alex Ferguson was so impressed with Ronaldo’s performance that he immediately wanted to sign him. And soon after the game, a deal was agreed for him to move to the Premier League .
It was the switch to Ferguson’s Man United that sent Ronaldo to stardom. He made his Old Trafford debut in August 2003 and had already won his first trophy a year later by winning the FA Cup . The now icon scored 20 goals in a season and won his first Premier League title in 2007 before taking his career to another level.
Multiple personal accolades were topped off by a Ballon d’Or win in 2008 before Real Madrid came calling with a monumental offer. In total for United, Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in all competitions, winning nine trophies with the club in the process. Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid in 2009 for a world-record fee at the time of £80million.
And he never looked back, becoming a legend at the club and their highest goalscorer of all time. He averaged over a goal a game he scored a whopping total of 450 goals in only 438 matches. Combine that with 131 assists and he was involved in 581 goals in that time which is simply an incredible number.
Rightly so, Ronaldo is considered one of the greatest to have played for Madrid. He won four Champions Leagues, two La Ligas , three Club World Cups, two Copa del Reys, two Spanish Cups and three UEFA Super Cups at the club. As well as that, he picked up four Ballon d’Ors as personal accolades.
Unfortunately though, after nine years in Spain, Ronaldo decided to leave the club and join Juventus for £85million in 2018. Ronaldo’s scoring didn’t stop at Juventus as he continued to find the back of the net at a remarkable rate in Serie A . He netted 81 times in only 98 league appearances in Italy while also providing 17 assists.
In all competitions, he scored 101 times and provided 22 assists. As he got older, some expected the goals to dry up but in 2021 he was named the Serie A top goalscorer with 29 goals. That made him the first ever player to win the award in English, Spanish and Italian leagues.
Ronaldo then made the decision to leave Juve with a move to Manchester City looking likely, at least that was until Old Trafford came calling again...
In arguably the biggest transfer announcement in recent years, Ronaldo rejoined Man United in 2021. And he returned to scoring goals for the Red Devils instantly, netting twice on his return to Manchester in a 4-1 in over Newcastle. He surpassed 800 career goals while at the club while also reaching a century in the Premier League as he carried his side through disappointing seasons.
In his second spell at United, he played 54 games and scored 27 goals in all competitions. However, things turned extremely sour when Erik ten Hag was employed as manager. He was regularly used as a substitute under Ten Hag and he even refused to come on which led to him being forced to train away from the first team.
Ronaldo would then take part in an interview with Piers Morgan in which he admitted he felt ‘betrayed’ by his manager and took aim at Man United as a club. This, of course, led to his departure as his contract was terminated in November 2022. A month later, Ronaldo ended his search for a new club.
And he made a major switch as he joined Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia , signing a contract that made him the highest-earning player ever. His move began a surge of signings in the Middle East with stars from all over the world following the icon. Ronaldo’s scoring form hasn’t stopped since joining and he is averaging almost a goal a game in the Saudi Pro League.
While Al-Nassr finished in second place in both the 2022/23 season and the 2023/24 season, they did win the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023 with Ronaldo scoring both goals in the final to secure the win. He scored his 500th career league goal while at the club and is currently boasting 67 goals and 18 assists in 74 games. And although the Saudi Pro League title has eluded him until now, Ronaldo will no doubt be desperate to change that going forward.
When it comes to the international stage, Ronaldo is the GOAT. He holds the record for the most goals scored in international football, finding the net 133 times in 216 games for Portugal . Those 216 appearances also make him the most-capped player in football history.
He has scored 14 times at European Championships and eight times at World Cups. But he was unable to add to that tally at Euro 2024. He memorably missed a penalty against Slovenia , with Portugal then exiting the tournament in the quarter-finals as Ronaldo confirmed that would be his last Euros.
And he has never got his hands on the Jules Rimet trophy, with the 2026 tournament likely to be his last chance at glory if he decides to compete. He will be 41 by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around, the same age his country teammate Pepe was at Euro 2024. But you cannot put anything past Ronaldo.
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