He plays to win, to entertain and he keeps on breaking records. Since making his debut for Sporting Lisbon against Inter in 2002, Cristiano Ronaldo has gone from the kid with a bright future ahead of him, to the highest paid footballer in the world.
 

Already the most capped player and record goalscorer for Portugal, the 31-year-old was on target once again as his country overcame Latvia to take his tally on to 68 and equal Germany’s Gerd Muller as the fourth highest scorer in international football history. He now has Miroslav Klose (71) in his sights and Hungarian duo Kocsis (75) and Puskas (84).  

Ronaldo could close in on another record this weekend in the Madrid derby; currently on 15 goals in this fixture, CR7 needs just two more against Atletico to bring him level with Los Blancos legends Alfredo Di Stefano and Santiago Bernabeu and to truly crown himself the king of Madrid.
 

This year, Ronaldo is the clear favourite to claim his fourth Ballon d’Or which would put him within one of his arch rival from Barcelona, Lionel Messi. The constant comparison between the two men is a daily occurrence with fans around the world. Portugals triumph at Euro 2016, despite Ronaldo’s first-half injury, seems to have lifted him to another level in the eyes of many. That neither of these two extraordinary footballers has claimed a World Cup winners medal (although Messi came so close in 2014) still keeps them both behind Maradona and Pele in the “immortal” stakes, but the real winners are the fans of the beautiful game, many who have grown up watching these two super heroes of the game drive each other to extraordinary levels never seen before.

By Federico Albrizio​. Translation by Steve Mitchell