Of course Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his 1,000th professional game.
The Portuguese reached the milestone last weekend in Juventus’ 2-1 win over SPAL.
The forward has lit up the world stage during an incredible career for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, as well as the Portugal national team – and he continues to perform at an elite level.
With that in mind, the Independent have decided to rank his 10 greatest individual performances.
From his Sporting debut as a teenager back in 2002 through to Saturday’s showing against SPAL, there were plenty of great displays to choose from.
10. SPORTING 3-0 Moreirense | Primeira Liga | October 7, 2002
We should have known from his debut that Ronaldo was going to be special.
Aged 17, he starred with two goals in a convincing 3-0 win for Sporting against Moreirense.
9. Juventus 1-4 REAL MADRID | Champions League final | June 3, 2017
Legends step up in the biggest matches and Ronaldo delivered in the 2017 Champions League final with a brace.
His second goal, a neat finish at the near post, was the 600th of his career, and it sealed back-to-back European Cups.
8. Barcelona 1-2 REAL MADRID | La Liga | April 21, 2012
Ronaldo produced his iconic ‘Calma’ celebration at the Camp Nou to silence the crowd in 2012.
The Portuguese forward settled a nervy affair with his late winner to end Barcelona’s hopes of winning the title.
7. Juventus 0-3 REAL MADRID | Champions League quarter-final | April 3, 2018
Real Madrid breezed past Juventus in the first leg of their Juventus quarter-final tie thanks to a sublime Ronaldo display.
He scored twice and his second goal – THAT bicycle kick that even got Juventus supporters applauding – has gone down as one of the all-time great Champions League goals.
6. PORTUGAL 3-3 Spain, World Cup | June 15, 2018
Ronaldo 3-3 Spain, more like.
Ronaldo had already scored twice when his country needed him in the closing minutes of their World Cup match.
And he delivered with a miraculous free-kick to sealed his hat-trick.
5. REAL MADRID 4-2 Bayern Munich | Champions League quarter-final | April 18, 2017
A controversial match was taken to extra-time when Sergio Ramos put through his own net late on.
Ronaldo had given Real Madrid the lead in the 76th minute but the game was taken to extra-time.
The forward then calmed nerves inside the Bernabeu with two goals in extra-time – one with his left foot and one with his right to complete the perfect hat-trick – and Real’s place in the semi-final was confirmed.
4. Arsenal 1-3 MANCHESTER UNITED | Champions League semi-final | May 5, 2019
Perhaps Ronaldo’s best performance in a Manchester United shirt.
The semi-final tie was perfectly poised following Man United’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the first leg but any hopes Arsenal had of reaching the final were dashed within 11 minutes of the return fixture.
Ronaldo set up Ji-Sung Park to score in the eighth minute and he then fired in a stunning 40-yard free-kick minutes later.
The United star added a second in the second half to complete a memorable display.
3. REAL MADRID 3-0 Wolfsburg | Champions League quarter-final | April 12, 2016
Real Madrid turned to Ronaldo to save them after they were beaten 2-0 by Wolfsburg in the first leg.
He netted a hat-trick at the Bernabeu – the third a free-kick that you just knew he was going to score from – and Zinedine Zidane’s side would go on to win the first of three straight Champions League titles.
2. Sweden 2-3 PORTUGAL | World Cup qualifying play-offs | November 19, 2013
Portugal needed a play-off to reach the 2014 World Cup finals but thankfully, they had Ronaldo.
He came out on top in his head-to-head battle against Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a stunning hat-trick to secure a 4-2 aggregate win.
It was also the night that Ronaldo became Portugal’s all-time leading goalscorer, his trio helping him reach 50 goals for his country.
1. JUVENTUS 3-0 Atletico Madrid | Champions League round of 16 | March 12, 2019
Atletico Madrid beat Juventus 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League tie last year, and Diego Simeone’s side certainly know how to defend a lead.
But Ronaldo unlocked their wall with a showstopping hat-trick, reminding everyone of his ability to single-handedly turn a tie on its head.
He scored two headers to level the tie at 2-2 before completing the comeback from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo, Georgina enjoy day with family as Cristiano Jr debuts on Instagram
Bathtime and badminton: Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez have been sharing some family moments from their home in Turin as Cristiano Jr launches himself on Instagram.
Northern Italy has been on high alert over fears of an outbreak of the coronavirus, with Turin, Milan and Venice taking serious measures to avoid the further spread of the disease. Several schools, bars, theatres and restaurants have closed, while access to Milan Fashion Week has also been restricted.
During these tense moments in the region, Cristiano Ronaldo, Georgina Rodríguez and their children have been wiling away the hours at their mansion in one of Turin’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, publishing several photos on social media to show their followers what they have been up to this Tuesday.
In one of the photos published on Ronaldo’s Instagram page this Tuesday, the Juventus striker is seen smiling in the bathtub with his four children: Cristiano Jr, Eva, Mateo and Alana Martina. “Funny moments with my babies,” wrote the 35-year-old superstar to accompanying the photo, which had garnered over 8 million likes at time of writing.
Cristiano and Georgina reveal their competitive streak
Taking advantage of the pleasant temperatures in Turin as the day drew to an end, Cristiano and Georgina enjoyed a rather serious game of badminton in their garden.
From the video, it is clear that the pair share a competitive streak, with Georgina attempting to claim the score was 2-1, before Ronaldo quickly corrects her, responding bluntly: “3-1”.
“I’m going to destroy you. I told you I was good at PE at school and I’m going to prove it to you,” snaps Georgina while losing a point.
“Good aggressiveness,” says the Portuguese striker. “I am the Nadal of badminton,” Georgina replies before one of their children enters to reclaim their attention.
Cristiano Jr launches Instagram page
With the permission of his father, Cristiano Jr. launched his own Instagram page on Monday evening, posting a selfie video to introduce himself to users of the platform.
“Hi guys. This is my new Instagram account. I hope you enjoy. Take care,” said the youngster in English, before repeating the message in three other languages.
At the time of writing, Cristiano Jr was nearing 900,000 followers, although he is still a long way off the 205 million users following his father’s page.
