Yearender: Cristiano Ronaldo goals and records in 2021

He happily took the challenge to make a move to the toughest league in Europe at this age and he has managed to pass the test with flying colours. Manchester United might not be having a particularly impressive season but if not for Ronaldo, their situation would have been a lot worse.

In this article, we take a look at how the superstar performed in 2021:

All-Time Leading Top Scorer in International Football

Since Ronaldo made his way to the Portugal side, he has more than often stood out as the sole hero of his country. Ronaldo’s Portugal career has been nothing short of spectacular and his records for his country speaks for it.

In 2021, Ronaldo broke the international goal scoring record formerly held by Iranian legend, Ali Daei (109 goals) which stood for years, after helping his nation go past Republic Ireland in a World Cup qualifying match. The 36-year-old currently has 115 strikes to his name in 184 international caps, making him also the leading active goal-scorer in the world.

Joining the 800 goal club

Ronaldo got his name once again in the history books becoming the latest player to join the 800-goal club. His brace helped Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 on 2nd December as the former Real Madrid star became the leading top scorer in the 21st century and the only footballer to bag 800 goals in the same century. He currently occupies the fourth spot in the all-time goal-scoring list for both club and country and there is every chance that he manages to reach 900 career goals before hanging up his boots.

More records in European Championship

Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Patrick Schick, finished top in the goalscoring charts in Euro 2020 as the 36-year-old made more records in the tournament. He became the first player to score at 5 consecutive Euro Cups and the first player to appear for 5 times in Euro Cups. He also significantly increased the gap of being the all-time top scorer in Euros with his current tally of 14 goals significantly ahead of Michel Platini’s 9.

Various other accolades

On 29th September, Ronaldo broke his former teammate Iker Casillas’ record of most appearances in the UEFA Champions League and he currently has 181 appearances in the premier club competition in Europe to his name. He also became the only player to win the Top Scorer Award & All Major Domestic Trophies in England, Spain, Italy i.e. 3 of the top five leagues in Europe. He also became the first player to score at least 20 goals in each of the last 12 seasons in the top-five European Leagues on his 600th league appearance.

Numbers

Ronaldo only managed to finish ninth in the race for Ballon d’Or 2021 but his numbers have hardly dried up. Ronaldo has played a total of 63 games for club and country in 2021 having scored 46 goals in the process while producing 6 assists. He has 0.73 goals per game while scoring 10 of his goals from the spot. The 36-year-old has scored 25 with his right foot, 12 with his left foot and 9 with his head.