Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 700 club goals when he scored Manchester United’s eventual winner in their 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday night. The Portugual international has had to fend off those wanting to consign him to history, but now he’s back to making history instead.
It is impossible to sum up a career as broad and era-defining as Ronaldo’s, but the best place to start is surely with some of those 700 club strikes. Here is the story of ‘CR7’ told through seven of the goals that made him.
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Sporting CP 3-0 Moreirense, 7th October 2002
Many in the crowd as Sporting eased past Moreirense twenty years ago will claim they knew they were in the presence of greatness. But they weren’t, not yet. No, on this night they were in the presence of a precocious, showboating 17-year-old winger with an eye for goal. This typical early-Ronaldo effort features blistering pace, a cheeky stepover and an impudent finish. It’s more FIFA Street than the clinical poaching of his pomp and all the more enjoyable for it. He would add a header to walk home with a brace from this game. The count had begun.
Manchester United 3-0 Portsmouth, 1st November 2003
Ronaldo was already causing excitement at Old Trafford. A stunning appearance in a friendly against the Red Devils for Sporting had led to his signing. A debut of impetuous, unkempt brilliance against Bolton Wanderers had hinted to Sir Alex Ferguson that he had a truly special player on his hands. But his first goal was somehow a case of the fully-formed Ronaldo of a decade’s time arriving before schedule. A free kick miles wide on the left, he’s obviously going to cross isn’t he? Surely? Don’t shoot from the… and it’s in. Welcome to the Premier League, Cristiano.
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea, 21st May 2008
Big players do it on the big occasions, and they don’t come any bigger than the Champions League final. Ronaldo would score a goal in the European football showcase at the very first attempt, rising to power home Wes Brown’s cross. The future legend actually missed his penalty in the shootout, but United would not have even got that far without him. Ronaldo got his hands on a trophy he has won five times to date.
Real Madrid 2-2 Valencia, 4th May 2014
There are spectacular goals, there are meaningful goals and then there are those that combine the two. Ronaldo opted for this frankly insane, improvisational backheel goal against Valencia in 2014. He did so in the 92nd minute of a game Los Blancos were losing 2-1. To attempt something like this takes guts. To attempt it when your team are on the verge of defeat takes greatness. A tap-in would have made him a hero, but this made him a legend.
Juventus 1-4 Real Madrid, 3rd June 2017
A crossroads for Ronaldo. His last Champions League final for Real Madrid, who had broken competition records on his watch. Coming against the team he would leave them to join a year later. But that was all in the future, in the present the striker was once again bending football to his will. Take your pick from his two goals here. The opener is the one we’ve chosen, an instinctive stroked finish from a Dani Carvajal centre to put Real on the front foot. His near-post finish from a Luka Modric ball to add their third is worth savouring too.
Sassuolo vs Juventus, 12th May 2021
Ronaldo’s time in Serie A will not be remembered with the same fanfare as his heady days in United red or Madrid white. His ignominious departure means even the club’s support is largely ambivalent to the Portuguese icon. But it bears repeating that even in Turin he was a record-breaker. Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for the club against Sassuolo with this smartly-controlled effort. He became the quickest player to ever reach this landmark for the club.
Everton vs Manchester United, 9th October 2022
The record-breaker. It should have come when Ronaldo spurned a glaring opportunity against Omoni Nicosia in the Europa League three days previously. But somehow it felt more appropriate at Goodison Park. A winning goal in United’s first Premier League game since a chastening 6-3 defeat to Manchester City, Ronaldo scored his magnificent 700th when his club needed it most.
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