Real Madrid galactico Cristiano Ronaldo has become the greatest European goal scorer of all time with two goals in his last match.
Ronaldo – who also stars as captain for European champions Portugal – equalled the 366 goal record set by England’s Jimmy Greaves by scoring twice in Real’s win against Sevilla on May 14.
Three days later he netted another brace against Celta Vigo which gave him the record of scoring the most goals in Europe’s five elite leagues.
The Greaves record had stood for 46 years.
The England international scored 366 goals in a 14 year career spanning periods at Chelsea, AC Milan, Spurs and West Ham.
Ronaldo’s goal scoring
Now 77 and recovering from a stroke, Greaves is too unwell to talk about Ronaldo’s achievement.
But the Portuguese’s scoring record speaks for itself, even though he seems to be someone everyone loves to hate.
He has scored 13 goals including two hat tricks in his last eight games, mainly against top class opposition, including Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Ronaldo’s goals have fired Real Madrid into the European Champions League final against Italian side Juventus and to within a point of lifting the Spanish league title.
Ronaldo is 32 and has played in the top flight for around as long as Greaves, but he seems to have some time left after adjusting his game to become more of a goal poacher rather than blaster of the ball.
He has spent many seasons vying with Barcelona’s Argentine international Lionel Messi as the best current soccer player.
Will the record stand?
Overall, Ronaldo has scored 539 career goals, while Messi has netted 507.
This season, Ronaldo has scored 51 goals in 50 appearances, while Messi has hit 39 in 44 appearances.
Among his many achievements, Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer for Portugal and Real Madrid.
Unfortunately, his record is unlikely to endure as players look to have longer careers. A few seasons ago, many were regarded as over the hill by the age of 30.
But many players are now still playing for top teams on approaching their forties – England strike Jermain Defoe is 34 and scored 14 goals in the English Premier League this season.
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