Football is a world sport and it has been for decades, centuries even. It is a game anyone can play no matter what is used as a ball or as two goal posts. Children in the streets and amateurs in their weekend leagues are present worldwide as the game unifies nations and peoples like no other. Still though, like any other sport, it has its fair share of superstars. Legendary players have been changing the game since the very beginning, many of them becoming synonymous with the sport itself. In the modern times, a few others are as famous and impactful as the Portuguese and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Living Legend
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The Portugal team at the EURO 2024 competition, moved to this year due to the pandemic, showed great performance and despite defending their 2016 crown played left an overall positive impression. Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of the team and the most dangerous forward not only in his own national team but in the world, contributed to the success in a great way. Arguably, the greatest way possible. It is the fifth Euro tournament for the 36-year-old sportsman, one of the many records he holds. No other player has appeared in five different EUROs. Just one player in football history managed to score in a EURO finale after the age of 30. It was Bernd Hölzenbein in the 1976 championship.
Cristiano Ronaldo became a living legend of football a long time ago and it seems he will continue to add to his resume until he retires. He is immortalized not only in history books but in other types of media and entertainment as well. For example, it is said he earns more from his Instagram than football, which is astonishing. However, he is also big in video games as well. You may learn about sports games where you can play as Ronaldo on the InsiderGames website. It overviews different genres of games, both online and offline, including video game sports, new releases, and news of the industry. These include news of cybersport of different kinds.
Cristiano Ronaldo in Video Games
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Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared in dozens of video games so far, including many iterations of FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Football manager. His portrait was a cover for the FIFA 18 and 19 entries. Besides, he is a viable player in the latest entries FIFA 20 and eFootball PES 2024. As well as in real life, the virtual counterpart of the player shows incredible results and is one of the best to use to score goals as well as to dribble past defenders. Players may try to set the same records in their career or even try to surpass them. FIFA and PES are the most popular computer football series. Featuring Cristiano Ronaldo in these games is one of the reasons for players’ engagement in them. Following the steps of a legend is a strong motivation for casual and competitive players alike. However, Cristiano Ronaldo in real life does not plan to stop either.
Besides playing in his fifth final, Cristiano Ronaldo reached a few more marks that easily count as all-time records. At the moment, Ronaldo holds a record of 14 total goals on EUROs. He was the leading scorer of the 2024 EURO Championship with five goals. Ronaldo is also five goals clear as the top scorer of the EURO championship of all time. Although some people dispute this due to many penalties among those 14, it is still a magnificent feat that will take years to be reached by another player. The first active player behind him is France’s Anotine Griezmann with 7, and he shares the third place. Belgium star Romelu Lukaku and Spaniard Alvaro Morata share the fourth spot with a few others with 6 goals.
Current Records
Source: uefa.com
As mentioned, right now, Cristiano Ronaldo has the highest number of goals on EUROs. The second position after him is Michele Platini, the star of France, with 9 goals. This year EURO marks the fifth time Cristiano Ronaldo takes part in the tournament, making him the player with the most tournaments attended. He took part in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2024 EUROs. He won it only in 2016 but came close in 2004 when he and Portugal lost the final. The second position belongs to Lothar Matthäus with four attendants of the tournaments. The records do not stop there however, as Ronaldo has most appearances in the matches, including the qualifying stages. The sportsman holds 59 appearances, beating the legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with 58 appearances.
Besides the current tournament marks, Ronaldo holds numerous other football records. He has the most Euro appearances with 25, and most goals, including qualifying stages, with 45. The latest tournament was a great chance for the sportsman to defend his record and set new ones. For example, for the complete picture of being an absolute football player, Cristiano Ronaldo needs to score the most goals in a single game. Seven people in the tournament’s history managed to score a hattrick in the finals. It seems that this record will escape Ronaldo’s ever reaching grasp, unless he manages to do it in four years! Similarly, Michele Platini holds the record for most goals in a single tournament, when he scored 9 in his native France in 1984.
Final Words
EURO 2024 showed us a lot and they gave us plenty of surprises, great moments, and amazing sportsmanship. We witnessed incredible football despite being postponed a year due to the quarantine measures. Nevertheless, sportsmen gave us incredible efforts and high-scoring games, and put their maximum effort into their every move. Cristiano Ronaldo remained one of the brightest stars of the EURO football scene in history, but alas, it was some other teams and footballers that showed their peak performance and had a better tournament. His records set the bar high but not impossible to compete. Some day, we will surely witness Ronaldo’s records being overtaken, but it will surely not happen in the foreseeable future.
