Happy Birthday Cristiano Ronaldo: 35 memorable Cristiano Ronaldo records to commemorate his 35th birthday
One of the very few players to have scored goals in Europe's Top 5 football leagues in his teens, 20s and 30s, Cristiano Ronaldo is showing little signs of slowing down as he turns 35 on 5 February 2020.
The 2016 European Championships winner for Portugal, who is also the all-time record scorer for the Iberian nation, has had a stellar career, scoring 722 goals in club (623) and international football (99).
Starting his senior club career at Sporting Lisbon in 2002-03, Ronaldo moved to Manchester United in 2003-04 where he won three Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup and four other domestic titles during six seasons with the club.
Ronaldo realised his boyhood dream by joining Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer of 2009-10 for a then world record transfer fee of €94 million. During nine trophy-laden seasons with the capital club, Ronaldo became Madrid's all-time top-scorer, winning a plethora of milestones in multiple competitions.
A 33-year-old Ronaldo, far from being done, then moved to Italian club Juventus for a record fee of €100 million - which marked the highest ever fee paid by an Italian club and the highest by any club for a player over the age of 30. The Portugal captain won the Serie A title in his first season in Italy and is presently in the midst of his most prolific scoring run in the competition, having scored in nine successive games to equal David Trezeguet's club record set in 2005.
As Ronaldo seeks a strong finish to the season, with the 2020 European Championships looming, let us have a look at the Portuguese maestro's 35 records in various competitions to commemorate his 35th birthday:
#1 Most Champions League titles
Ronaldo has won the Champions League title with Manchester United in 2007-08 and with Real Madrid in 2013-14, 2015-16 to 2017-18, becoming the first player in the Champions League era (1991-92 onwards) to win five titles in the competition.
#2 Most Champions League goals
The first player to score 100 goals in the Champions League competition proper (group-stage to final), Ronaldo is the all-time top-scorer in European club football's blue riband club competition. The 35-year-old striker has scored 15 goals for Manchester United, 105 for Real Madrid, and eight for his present club Juventus.
#3 Most Champions League appearances by an outfield player
With 168 appearances, Ronaldo is only nine games shy of breaking former Real Madrid teammate Iker Casillas' record of most appearances in the Champions League.
However, Ronaldo holds the record for most appearances by an outfield player in the competition. The Portugal captain has played 52 Champions League games for Manchester United, 101 for Real Madrid, and 15 for Juventus.
#4 Most Champions League match wins
Ronaldo became the first player to win 100 games in the Champions League when he featured for Juventus in a 1-0 home win over Valencia in the 2018-19 group-stage.
Even though the competition's record scorer did not find the back of the net, Ronaldo celebrated the occasion by providing to Mario Mandzukic who scored the only goal of the game.
#5 First player to score 100 Champions League goals for a club
By scoring against Paris St. Germain in Real Madrid's Round of 16 Champions League clash in the 2017-18 season, Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 goals in the competition for a single club.
Ronaldo's tally of 105 Champions League goals for the Spanish capital club is only dwarfed by Lionel Messi's 114 goals in the competition for Barcelona.
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#6 Only player to score for 2 different winning teams in the Champions League final
Among a small group of players to have scored for multiple teams in Champions League finals, Ronaldo is the only one to do so for two winning teams.
In his first Champions League final in 2007-08, Ronaldo scored Manchester United's only goal in regulation and extra time against Chelsea before the Old Trafford team triumphed in a penalty shootout.
Six seasons later, Ronaldo scored Real Madrid's fourth goal in a 4-1 extra-time win over Atletico Madrid as the capital club won their La Decima.
#7 Only player to score in 3 Champions League finals
By scoring for Madrid against Juventus in the 2016-17 final, Ronaldo became the only player in competition's history to score in 3 Champions League finals (also 2007-08 and 2013-14).
#8 Most Champions League knockout stage goals
Ronaldo's competition-leading tally of 128 Champions League goals consists of a record 65 goals scored in the group-stage of the competition.
The tally consists of nine goals scored for Manchester United, 54 for Real Madrid and five for Juventus.
#9 Oldest player to score a Champions League hat-trick
Ronaldo scored Juventus' all three goals in the Bianconeri's Round of 16 second leg clash with Atletico Madrid in the 2018-19 edition of the Champions League to become the oldest player (34 years) to score a Champions League hat-trick.
#10 Most Champions League knockout stage hat-tricks
Ronaldo's four hat-tricks in the knockout stage of the Champions League - three for Real Madrid and one for Juventus - are the most by any player in the competition.
#11 Most goals in a Champions League season
In his fifth season with Real Madrid in 2013-14, Ronaldo scored 17 goals in the Champions League to create a new record for most goals in the competition in a season.
Ronaldo's efforts were instrumental in Madrid winning their first Champions League title in over a decade.
#12 Most Champions League group-stage goals in a season
The season after Madrid lifted their 10th Champions League/European Cup title (2013-14), Ronaldo continued his sizzling form in the competition.
The Portuguese striker's 11 group-stage goals in 2015-16 remains a record for most group-stage goals in a Champions League season.