Ronaldo\u2019s breakthrough at Manchester United came during the 2006-07 season, when he scored 17 Premier League goals to help the club win its first league title in four years.\n<\/p>\n
After arriving from Sporting CP in 2003, the Portuguese winger had steadily developed into one of the most exciting young players in English football.\n<\/p>\n
His performances earned him both the Professional Footballers\u2019 Association (PFA) Players\u2019 Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards in 2007, underlining his emergence as a leading figure in the Premier League.\n<\/p>\n
He had also won the FA Cup in his first season at Old Trafford, scoring in the 3-0 final victory over Millwall in 2004.\n<\/p>\n
El Cl\u00e1sico winner seals Copa del Rey for Real Madrid in 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n Ronaldo delivered a defining moment in his early Real Madrid career when he scored the winning goal against Barcelona in the 2011 Copa del Rey final.\n<\/p>\n With the match level after 90 minutes, Ronaldo rose at the far post to power home a header from \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda\u2019s cross in extra time, giving Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at the Mestalla Stadium.\n<\/p>\n The goal secured his first major trophy with the Spanish club and was particularly significant because it came against their fierce rivals in a high-profile final.\n<\/p>\n Leads Portugal to historic Euro 2016 title<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n One of the defining achievements of Ronaldo\u2019s international career came at Euro 2016, when Portugal won their first major international title.<\/p>\n Portugal defeated hosts France 1-0 after extra time in the final in Paris, with Eder scoring the decisive goal.\n<\/p>\n Ronaldo was forced off injured in the first half, leaving the pitch in tears, but remained involved from the touchline, encouraging his teammates and taking on an unofficial coaching role. Ronaldo also became the all-time leading goalscorer in European Championship history, with 14 goals across the finals.\n<\/p>\n Wins fifth Ballon d\u2019Or in 2017<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n Ronaldo collected his fifth Ballon d\u2019Or in 2017, drawing level with Lionel Messi\u2019s record at the time.<\/p>\n The award followed a remarkable 2016-17 season in which he helped Real Madrid win both the UEFA Champions League and La Liga.\n<\/p>\n He scored twice in the Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff, helping Real Madrid secure a 4-1 victory and become the first club to retain the trophy in the competition\u2019s modern era. First player to score 100 Champions League goals in 2017<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n Ronaldo made more history in April 2017 when he became the first player to score 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League.\n<\/p>\n He reached the milestone with a hat-trick in Real Madrid\u2019s 4-2 extra-time victory over Bayern Munich in the quarter-final second leg.<\/p>\n His record-breaking achievement reflected his extraordinary consistency in Europe\u2019s premier club competition, where he went on to establish himself as its all-time leading goalscorer.\n<\/p>\n First player to win five Champions League titles in 2018<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n Ronaldo became the first player to win the Champions League five times in the modern era when Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 final in Kyiv. The three consecutive triumphs with Real Madrid from 2016 to 2018 represented one of the most remarkable periods of dominance in the competition\u2019s history.\n<\/p>\n Record 985 career goals for club and country<\/strong><\/p>\n Ronaldo\u2019s remarkable scoring record is perhaps the most enduring feature of his career.\n<\/p>\n According to the figures supplied, he has scored 985 goals in 1,343 senior appearances for club and country, leaving him 15 goals short of the historic 1,000-goal milestone.\n<\/p>\n His 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal also make him the leading scorer in men\u2019s international football and the most-capped male international player.\n<\/p>\n Beyond the numbers, his career has been defined by longevity, consistency and success across England, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia and international football. Head of Sports at BusinessDay Media, a seasoned Digital Content Producer, and FIFA\/CAF Accredited Journalist with over a decade of sports reporting.Has a deep understanding of the Nigerian and global sports landscape and skills in delivering comprehensive and insightful sports content.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Source: <\/p>\n Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football, bringing the curtain down on a record-breaking 23-year career with Portugal, during which he scored 146 goals in 234 appearances. The… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
He finished the tournament with three goals and three assists and was named in the team of the tournament.\n<\/p>\n
The individual honour further cemented his status among the defining players of his generation.\n<\/p>\n
He had won his first title with Manchester United in 2008 before lifting the trophy with Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.\n<\/p>\n
As he brings his Portugal career to an end, Ronaldo leaves behind a legacy shaped by individual records, major trophies and moments that have influenced football for more than two decades.\n<\/p>\nRelated News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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