The Portuguese superstar will enter the next Euro 2024 in Germany with the 4 records he currently holds in history.
The king bombed through the Euros
After 5 UEFA Euro tournaments, Cristiano Ronaldo is the player with the most goals in the history of this tournament. Currently, the Al Nassr player has scored 14 goals, far ahead of the 2nd ranked person, French legend Michel Platini (9 goals). By being present at this year’s Euro, he will have the opportunity to increase his own achievements before retiring from his international career with the European Selecao. Broadly speaking, in the top 10 players who scored the most goals in the EURO finals, no player is still playing.
Although in terms of performance, Platini is superior to Ronaldo. He scored 9 goals in 5 matches at EURO 1984, while Ronaldo had to attend 22 matches to achieve his current achievement. However, that also shows the Portuguese star’s perseverance. Although he is no longer at his peak, he is still the “leader” of Portugal towards the Euro Cup in Germany.
At the age of 36 years and 130 days, Ronaldo also became the oldest player to score 2 goals in a EURO match. The old record belongs to Andriy Shevchenko, the “Eastern European Gazelle” who scored a double against Sweden at EURO 2021 at the age of 35 years and 256 days.
Player with the most Euro appearances
Ronaldo has participated in 5 EURO finals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), an achievement no player in history has reached. Pepe and Luka Modric are players who are still playing but have only attended 4 EURO finals. It is difficult for these two veterans to surpass the record of the Portuguese superstar. Euro 2024 held in Germany will be the 6th tournament this legend has participated in. England needs a title to compensate for Al-Nassr’s two domestic defeats in the past season.
Player with most appearances at Euro
Cristiano Ronaldo has also appeared in 25 matches in Euro tournaments, the most of any player in history. This list includes two more Portuguese players after Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho and Pepe, each with 19 appearances in the tournament. Overall, he surpassed Gianluigi Buffon to become the player with the most appearances at Euro, including qualifying rounds (64 matches compared to Buffon’s 58 matches). The player closest to Ronaldo’s achievements is Luka Modric with 53 appearances.
Player to score goals in most Euro appearances
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 1 goal in 2004 and 2008. Then, he scored 3 goals in 2012 and won Euro 2016. At Euro 2020, Ronaldo scored 5 goals throughout the tournament. Captain of Portugal is the only player to score goals in 3 or more Euro tournaments. Participating in the 2024 European Talent Festival at the age of 39 will help the Portuguese team captain break other records. Most importantly, Ronaldo really wants to win another Euro championship with the Selecao to increase the greatness of his trophy collection.
At the age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo may be slow and out of shape, but CR7’s experience and leadership role are still valuable to the Portuguese team. In the 2023/24 season, Ronaldo scored 50 goals in 51 appearances for Al Nassr. He proved that his goal-scoring instincts are still sharp. He will still be the leader and spiritual fulcrum for his juniors at the upcoming Euro, dreaming of the second Euro championship in his career. Most likely, this will be the Portuguese superstar’s last Euro before retiring from his career.
