It was a strange bit of footage, certainly. Alvaro Arbeloa slid in to tap home a goal for Real Madrid, their third, against a beleaguered Almeria. And there, arriving just a few moments too late, was Cristiano Ronaldo.
As Arbeloa peeled away in joy, Ronaldo kicked the ball back into the net, frustrated. Then, later, he was seen shaking his head, as if Arbeloa had cost the team, not just him personally, a goal. Yes, very strange, though if you know Ronaldo (or at least the talk of his supreme levels of egotism) then the scene may come as less of a surprise.
Arbeloa was typically diplomatic when he was asked about Ronaldo’s reaction.
“Cristiano’s behaviour didn’t bother me. He’s just hungry to score. His battle with [Lionel] Messi to be top scorer is heating up,” he said.
Indeed, with Messi just two goals behind him, Ronaldo is obviously keen to snap up any goalscoring opportunity he can. And this affair came just before Ronaldo’s latest superhuman achievement.
No, it isn’t his record-setting registering of a hat-trick against the same opponent for the fifth consecutive season (Sevilla), though that is a noteworthy feather in his cap, to be sure. And it isn’t his effortless passing of Alfredo di Stefano to become the leading hat-tricker for Los Blancos either.
No, it was his record-breaking fifth season scoring more than 50 goals. Pele had four such seasons. Messi has had four as well, so far. Gerd Müller only had a paltry two 50-goal seasons.
You don’t become the modern era’s most relentless goalscorer without the sort of mindset that led Ronaldo to behave in the way he did against Almeria. It has become clear over his remarkable five years at Real that Ronaldo is in it for the goals, they are the most tangible, the most decisive statistic to accumulate.
He has evolved fully now from the lanky, flashy winger during his time at Manchester United. He’s now the exemplar footballer, certainly from the perspective of pure, inarguable productivity.
This is, in part, a reflection on the state of La Liga over the past five years. In early April, Real obliterated Granada 9-1 and Ronaldo scored five goals. It’s incredible to say, but, had he really been clinical with his finishing, he might have had seven or eight.
Remarkably lopsided scorelines are fairly frequent when Real or Barcelona take on low-table opposition (Barca flattened Cordoba 8-0 just a few nights ago). The staggering inequity between the big two and the rest (you might hesitantly exclude Atletico Madrid from ‘the rest’) balloons Messi and Ronaldo’s goalscoring tallies, without doubt, but Real and Barca have always been juggernauts compared to the majority of the other Spanish clubs.
In that match against Granada in April, the game was over in what felt like a few minutes after it began, with Ronaldo’s first half hat-trick and Gareth Bale’s tight finish giving Real a 4-0 lead at the break. Most managers would sit back, maybe take off their important players and coast until the final whistle. Not Real, though, they seem acutely aware of Ronaldo’s own personal goal campaign, so they were merciless.
Attack after attack, bludgeoning the prone Granada corpse, they bolstered Ronaldo’s Golden Ball tilt. As the rout progressed, it became utterly obvious why head-to-head goal difference is preferenced by the Spanish league in the event of a points parity. For Granada, this mortal blow to their overall goal difference meant little, as long as they avoided similar results against their direct relegation rivals.
So, here we sit, all numbed into a sort of fuzzy haze by the goals, the constant hat-tricks, the massive margins of victory. We’ve almost taken it for granted that Ronaldo should score as he does, at over a goal per game since moving to Spain. But, historically speaking, the figures are truly astonishing, and his latest achievement is one that, it appears, only Messi has any chance of bettering.
At its most basic level, the game is about goals, and who scores more of them. It may be selfish – and it is – for Ronaldo to fly into a strop over Arbeloa sneaking in and stealing one of his precious goals. It may the act of a grotesque ego – and it is – for him to perversely pummel Granada for his own personal tally. But it is nonetheless staggeringly impressive.
There simply has never been a goalscorer like him, so finely distilled, so relentlessly honed, so focused on the ultimate impact.
Anirudh Bhagavatula
Roar Rookie
There has been no better goalscorer? Get your facts right. Messi is better in almost every statistic dude. And what about Pele? Ferenc Puskas? Never be such a die-hard fan so as to overlook the facts.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Ronaldo is the guy you love to hate, but he is awesome. Messi is the guy most admire. He just happens to be awesome also. Messi has probably at this stage had the better career, but a few more seasons like this and Ronaldo might overtake him.
The artist formerly known as Punter
Guest
Could you imagine what Neymar, Suarez, Messi, with Inesita, Rakitic & Xavi feeding them would do to these players. You saw what Suarez did last year in the EPL, nearly dragged an average Liverpool side to the premiership. Suarez's performance last year was the best individual performance I had seen since Ronaldo in 07/08. He is good again this year, but 20-30 goals behind Ronaldo & Messi.
Kaks
Roar Guru
There is a massive difference with Jedinak playing next to Milligan and infront of Spiranovic and Sainsbury than there is Jedinak playing next to McArthur/Ledley and infront of Dann & Ward/Kelly/Delaney. Plus, Jedinak still led the Aussies to victory so...
Kaks
Roar Guru
IMO I think Ronaldo is less of a player now than he use to be when at United. During his Man United years he was a fast, technical and skillful player who would take players on (and usually beat them) 1-on-1. His game has completely changed to just goal scoring, which is not easy by any means, but he is definitely not the same player he use to be who would do something extraordinary every time he got the ball. I think he will find it harder in the EPL if he returned now as he will be marked out of games. Then again, we wont know unless he goes back. You may be right about messi, however players like Silva & Hazard have thrived in the EPL (closest comparison i can find with the way they play and their physical stature) and they're considered the best in the league so you never know. In saying that, Messi has only ever scored on English soil once (CL final '09 vs United) and has never scored against Chelsea.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Messi would get hacked to death by those smaller EPL teams. That's why I don't want to see him in the EPL. He wouldn't come home with both legs. Ronaldo has proven himself in the EPL and imo he is twice the player now compared to what he was at United. The season he gave us in 07/08 was truly unforgettable and probably where my bias towards him stems from. There were times when we looked certain to lose but then Ronaldo would do something out of this world and we suddenly had 3 points in the bag. Only downside to that season was his penalty miss in the UCL final. That could have cost us the game had Terry not slipped. But he did score a brilliant header earlier in the game. Someone earlier mentioned he is probably the greatest header of the ball in history. I can't think of many better.
The artist formerly known as Punter
Guest
Yes we all saw what the nippy little Asian players did to the EPL star Jedinak during the Asian cup. Can you imagine what Messi & Ronaldo would do, back by their midfield, the likes of Stoke, Burnley, Aston Villa & QPR would be chasing shadows.
The artist formerly known as Punter
Guest
'They’re on a completely different level to any other footballer of this era.' I think this is something we tend to take for granted these are 2 of the greatest players ever to grace a football field & they are there competing in our era. Don't forget there are special players like Inesita, Xavi, Robben, but these are on a different level. Many would rate Messi the greatest ever, I do not argue against this, so if you have Ronaldo pushing him all the way, so have 2 greats pushing each other, it's never really been seen before.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Bundesliga, Probably EPL, not likely. They would both be great players in the EPL and would most likely continue to score goals regularly, but their is a vast contrast in defending in the La Liga and EPL. The only team in La Liga who mimick a decent, physical, English defence that apply a huge amount of pressure on the ball carrier is Atletico. Both Messi and Ronaldo struggle to score goals again Atletico for this reason. La Liga outfits usually allow attackers a lot of time and space where as both of those are a rare luxury in the EPL
AZ_RBB
Guest
This season has seen Ronaldo complete more goal assists than any other time in his career. Messi, unsurprisingly, has more. But I would argue that Messi plays a deeper play making role compared to Ronaldo. Most clubs are happy to see their forward score 20 goals in a season. 30 is considered to be an amazing season (look at everyone froth at the mouth over Harry Kane). These two would consider a season with less than 40 goals to be a failure. They're on a completely different level to any other footballer of this era. Say what you like about weaker La Liga teams, these two would score blindfolded in the EPL and Bundesliga.
SM
Guest
Messi's alleged bullying of younger, less talented players at his own club, most notably Cristian Tello, would be worse than anything Ronaldo has ever done.
The artist formerly known as Punter
Guest
Let's look at this differently. Pele, great ambassador for the game, a gentleman on & off the field, scorer of over 1000 goals love by all. Garincha, died a hopeless drunk Many in Brazil rate Garincha better. Bobby Charlton, great ambassador of football for England & Man U, gentleman on & off the field, won WC with England. Georgie Best, died a drunk, left Man U at 26 years old, terrible attitude. Many rate Best better then Charlton at Man U & UK player. Maradona is the greatest player I have seen, not a nice person, a dirty little grub who took both performance enhancing & social drugs during playing career. Ronaldo has a terrible attitude & a huge ego, it's about personal glory for him. This is what what makes him the outstanding player he is & benefits the team. He is a gentleman off the field, trains hard to be the best & did not waste he God given talent like Maradona, Best, Garincha & the list goes on. Ronaldo's off field misdemeanors are probably less then Messi's. Champions come in all forms, just because Ronaldo is an arrogant so & so, does not make Ronaldo quest to be one of the greatest any less then Messi's.
Kaks
Roar Guru
"You don’t become the modern era’s most relentless goalscorer without the sort of mindset that led Ronaldo to behave in the way he did against Almeria" I wholeheartedly disagree with this misconception. It is an excuse people use to defend Ronaldo's childish behaviour. I dont want to turn this into a Ronaldo vs Messi debate, however in this instance i will. Messi is able to score a plethora of goal and is also able to outscore Ronaldo when uninjured, and still be a good team player and celebrate with his team mates. Nothing is stopping Ronaldo from doing so other than Ronaldo's terrible attitude, huge ego and desire to come out of Messi's shadow.
Ben
Guest
Without a doubt one of the greatests headers of the ball the world has seen.