The great football player Cristiano Ronaldo gained even more recognition as UEFA bestowed upon him a unique award in recognition of his unparalleled contribution to the Champions League.
On Thursday, Ronaldo attended the Champions League draw event in Monaco for the 2024–25 season, when he was presented with the accolade.
After moving to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo hasn’t participated in the Champions League in a few years.
His incredible record of 140 goals in 183 games is still unbreakable, though. In the goal scoring charts, he is 11 goals ahead of Robert Lewandowski (94 from 120) and Lionel Messi (129 from 163).
“For me, it’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for this amazing award. As you know, the Champions League is the highest in football. The records speak for themselves but the league (is at that level) because of the players that play in the competition. I have nice memories coming to this gala and football is managed by memories. So, thank you for this,” Ronaldo explained after receiving the award.
The 39-year-old has also won the Champions League five times, with four of those victories coming with Real Madrid and one with Manchester United.
He was the first player to win the Champions League five times, having done so four times with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United.
With 11 goals in a row from June 2017 to April 2018, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner also has the record for the greatest goal-scoring streak in Champions League history.
In addition, he boasts an incredible eight Champions League hat-tricks.
“The first one was always the special one when I was in Manchester. Of course, Real Madrid was differently special, winning four times there. At that time, in Lisbon in 2018, I remember I felt like the most expensive player in the world and there was pressure about winning the Champions League.
“But I think goals and trophies are like ketchup, once it starts coming, they keep coming,” he added.
Topics #ChampionsLeague #CristianoRonaldo #SoccerLegend #UEFAAwards
