Arguably the best player to ever play the game, Cristiano Ronaldo left Europe with lots of Records to his name. Known as Mr. Champions league, Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to win 5 UCL’s in modern era. He also holds the record for most goals contributions in the competition.
UEFA will now honore Cristiano ahead of the competitions new format. The format will now see 36 teams instead of 32.
UEFA Will honor Cristiano Ronaldo
UEFA released an official statement claiming Cristiano Ronaldo will receive a recognition on the night of the new format’s draw. The draws are said to take place on August 29th in Monaco. UEFA’s statement read:
“Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League, will be honoured with a special award from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin in recognition of his remarkable legacy in the world’s most prestigious competition.
Ronaldo’s achievements in Europe’s premier club competition – accomplished over the course of more than 18 years – will be recognised during the inaugural 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 36-team league phase draw ceremony, which will take place on Thursday 29 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Cristiano Ronaldo, former Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has scored 140 Champions League goals in 183 appearances. He is 11 goals clear of Lionel Messi and 46 ahead of third-placed Robert Lewandowski at the top of the scoring charts.”
In only 101 games, Cristiano Ronaldo managed 105 UCL goals with Real Madrid. As if that was not enough, he also accumulated upto 31 assists at the same time. Altogether, Cristiano Ronaldo had a total of 136 goal contributions in 101 UCL games for Real Madrid only.
Cristiano Ronaldo will undoubtedly go down as the best player in the competition history. The way he single-handedly changed results on his own was a once in a lifetime treat.
Cristiano still holds the record for the most number of goals in a single UCL campaign (17). With the format changing and they being more games, it’s fair to say that record won’t last much longer.