He is unquestionably one of the best ever to do it. One of the best goalscorers of all time, even just one of the best to ever kick a football
Cristiano Ronaldo has accomplished everything there is to achieve in the sport. Well, almost everything
Winning the World Cup with Portugal at the age of 41 would be the perfect crowning glory of an incredible career that, on the international stage, has already seen him lift the European Championship and two Nations Leagues with a country still batting above its weight in competing for trophies alongside established global footballing powerhouses
Cristiano Ronaldo will make history by playing in his sixth World Cup tournament at 41.Tim Clayton / Getty
There are only 10 million people in Portugal and Ronaldo is by far the most famous, most celebrated and most revered person, let alone sportsperson, from the Iberian country
Portugal winning the World Cup would have been a pipedream at the turn of the century when they had qualified for only one of the previous eight tournaments
The oldest players at the 2026 World Cup
- Craig GordonGoalkeeper, Scotland43 yr. 5 mos.
- Cristiano RonaldoForward, Portugal41 yr. 3 mos.
- Guillermo OchoaGoalkeeper, Mexico40 yr. 10 mos.
- Luka ModricMidfielder, Croatia40 yr. 8 mos.
- Edin DzekoForward, BOS40 yr. 2 mos.
- Manuel NeuerGoalkeeper, Germany40 yr. 2 mos.
- VozinhaGoalkeeper, Cape Verde40 yr. 0 mos.
- Fernando MusleraGoalkeeper, Uruguay39 yr. 11 mos.
- Yuto NagatomoDefender, Japan39 yr. 8 mos.
- Hernan GalindezGoalkeeper, Ecuador39 yr. 2 mos.
- El Mahdy SolimanGoalkeeper, Egypt38 yr. 11 mos.
- Lionel MessiForward, Argentina38 yr. 11 mos.
- Tim ReamDefender, United States38 yr. 7 mos.
- WevertonGoalkeeper, Brazil38 yr. 5 mos.
- Alberto QuinteroMidfielder, Panama38 yr. 5 mos.
- Johny PlacideGoalkeeper, Haiti38 yr. 4 mos.
- Nicolas OtamendiDefender, Argentina38 yr. 3 mos.
- Roberto FernandezGoalkeeper, Paraguay38 yr. 2 mos.
- StopiraDefender, Cape Verde38 yr. 0 mos.
- Michael BoxallDefender, New Zealand37 yr. 9 mos.
During Ronaldo’s era — and, in large part, because of him — the far-fetched notion of being the best team in the world has become a touchable reality
He may only be one player in an 11-man team, but Ronaldo’s goals have helped lift Portugal to new heights and he is now in the exceptional position of being able to see and touch his legacy around him. Ask most Portugal players who they idolised growing up, or who inspired them to play football, and they’ll say CR7
So, how best to sum up his genius?
Well, there are a few routes you could go down, like with numbers. For instance, Ronaldo has now scored 973 career goals, reaching three figures for four clubs (the only player ever to do so, with Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus and Al Nassr). In terms of official matches only for club and country, that places him at the top of the all-time goalscorers list
At international level he holds the world record for goals, with 143 for Portugal since his debut in 2003
Top international goalscorers, all time
- Cristiano RonaldoPortugal143
- Lionel MessiArgentina116
- Ali DaeiIran108
- Sunil ChhetriIndia95
- Romelu LukakuBelgium89
- Mokhtar DahariMalaysia89
- Robert LewandowskiPoland89
- Ali MabkhoutUAE85
- Ferenc PuskasHungary84
- Godfrey ChitaluZambia79
- NeymarBrazil79
- Harry KaneEngland78
- Hussein SaeedIraq78
- PeleBrazil77
- Sandor KocsisHungary75
- Bashar AbdullahKuwait75
- Kunishige KamamotoJapan75
- Edin DzekoBOS73
- Majed AbdullahSaudi Arabia72
- Miroslav KloseGermany71
- Kiatisuk SenamuangThailand71
- Kinnah PhiriMalawi71
He once scored 69 goals in a single season (2011-12), with 60 for Real Madrid and nine for Portugal, hauls that included seven hat-tricks
In his prime with Real he scored 50 goals in all competitions for six seasons in a row and is the club’s all-time top goalscorer
How about achievements? Individually he has won five Ballon d’Ors, seven Champions League golden boots and been named in the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 on 15 occasions
He has won five domestic player of the year awards and eight Portuguese sportsman of the year awards
With teams he has won, as well as that aforementioned trio of tournaments with Portugal, five Champions Leagues, seven domestic leagues and four Club World Cups, among many more
How about quotes from some of the greatest managers of all time, will that do Ronaldo justice?
Ronaldo during his first FIFA World Cup on June 11, 2006 in Koln, Germany at 21 years old.Christof Koepsel / Getty
Jose Mourinho once said of the Ronaldo-Lionel Messi rivalry: “When someone with the same responsibility as me comes out and says; ‘Mine is the best on the planet’ then I have to say; ‘Mine was not born in Madeira, he was born on Mars, he is not from planet earth, he is the best in the universe
“If Messi is the best on the planet, Ronaldo is the best in the universe.”
And then there was Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager at Manchester United, who said in his autobiography: “Cristiano was the most gifted player I managed. He surpassed all the other great ones I coached at United — and I had many.”
Top international appearance makers, all time
- Cristiano RonaldoForward, Portugal226
- Bader Al-MutawaForward, Kuwait202
- Lionel MessiForward, Argentina198
- Luka ModricMidfielder, Croatia197
- Soh Chin AnnDefender, Malaysia195
- Ahmed MubarakMidfielder, Oman193
- Hassan Al-HaydosForward, Qatar186
- Ahmed HassanForward, Egypt183
- Andres GuardadoMidfielder, Mexico180
- Sergio RamosDefender, Spain180
- Mohamed Al-DeayeaGoalkeeper, Saudi Arabia178
- Claudio SuarezDefender, Mexico178
- Hossam HassanForward, Egypt177
- Gianluigi BuffonGoalkeeper, Italy176
- Maynor FigueroaDefender, Honduras175
- Amer ShafiGoalkeeper, Jordan171
- Ivan HurtadoDefender, Ecuador168
- Alexis SanchezForward, Chile168
- Iker CasillasGoalkeeper, Spain167
- Robert LewandowskiForward, Poland167
His full, enduring legacy is not yet known, but the fact you can travel to any corner of the globe and even young children today will not only know Ronaldo, but adore him, or run down the street shouting; ‘SIUUU’ reflects the impact he continues to have, aged 41
The fact that he says these things himself (Ronaldo told Piers Morgan in an interview last year that nobody in the world is more famous than him) only adds to the braggadocious persona that is admired and emulated (and, let’s be honest, also loathed) across the globe
As he heads towards the winter of his career, what is Ronaldo now, other than clearly still incredibly fit and astonishingly rich?
Ronaldo shoots and scores a penalty shot during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between Portugal and Ghana on November 24, 2022.Patricia De Melo Moreira / Getty
Well, for Portugal he remains not just their captain and central striker, but also their talisman
“He is very intelligent, he is the captain and shows commitment to the national team that is exemplary,” Portugal boss Roberto Martinez said recently. “He is an example. It is incredible, the hunger of Cristiano.”
A debate has raged for years now as to whether Ronaldo is still worthy of a place in Portugal’s XI, particularly since he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023
He has a poor record at recent major international tournaments, scoring one goal in his past 10 World Cup or European Championship appearances
However, while his position in the side can be fairly debated, his worthiness of being in the squad is without question given his prolific form both in Saudi Arabia (28 goals in 30 league games for Al Nassr this season) and for Portugal (five in five during World Cup qualification after eight goals in nine during their triumphant 2024-25 Nations League campaign)
Where Cristiano Ronaldo took his shots
Saudi Pro League, 2025-26, data
“He is fantastic at those movements, those runs, opening spaces, splitting centre halves,” Martinez added
“He’s been disciplined to be in the right positions, always executing the attacking patterns that we have. And that gives him opportunities to score as he’s done, but the opportunity of opening space for our players.”
The man who has done it all and won it all just has one space left on the world’s biggest mantlepiece. Should he lift the trophy on July 19th, it would be hard to question his self-proclaimed standing as the greatest of all time
Designed and produced by John Bradford, Mark Carey, Eamonn Dalton, Thom Harris, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Thomas Oide and Kelsea Petersen
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