Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo can enjoy his 33rd birthday yesterday by looking back on a productive 12 months and a full decade, during which he has been at the top of the game.
As the years pass more questions arise about just how long these returns can continue — the next few weeks may decide where he is celebrating his big day this time next year — but, despite recent frustration, Ronaldo did pretty well while he was 32.
Real Madrid won five trophies, including the Champions League, La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup, while his individual awards included a fifth Ballon d’Or, as well as the FIFA Best Player and UEFA player of the year prizes.
Given that birthdays are usually time for reflection, Ronaldo may look back on turning 23 as a key moment in his career. Before Feb. 5, 2008, he had scored 100 goals in 287 competitive games for Sporting Lisbon, Man United and Portugal.
In his 24th year, Ronaldo scored 30 goals in 56 games and won his first Champions League trophy. He also finished as top scorer in the competition for the first time and was named UEFA Club footballer of the year. Given all that, it was no surprise that a first career Ballon d’Or followed. The personal numbers kept increasing, especially after he joined Real Madrid for a world-record €94 million fee in 2009.
By his 27th birthday, Ronaldo had 213 goals in 471 games for club and country and the 12 months that followed were his peak in quantitative terms, as he scored the most goals – 67 — and played the most games – 70 — for club and country. Such a huge effort, however, brought just two trophies, though one of was a first Liga title.
At 28, Ronaldo played slightly fewer minutes but took his number of goals – 61 — above total games – 58 — for the first time. He collected just one big trophy — his second Ballon d’Or — after he helped his cause hugely with a superhuman effort in dragging Portugal to the World Cup.