2012–13 season

On 23 August 2012, Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season against Barcelona in the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España at Camp Nou, which made him the first Madrid player in the history of El Clásico to score for the fourth game in a row at the Camp Nou.^[112] Real Madrid won the return leg at Santiago Bernabéu, with Ronaldo scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 win. With the goal in the second leg, Ronaldo equalled the Real Madrid record of Iván Zamorano of scoring in five consecutive El Clásico matches.^[113] Ronaldo was second (tied with Lionel Messi) in the 2011–12 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, only behind Andrés Iniesta.^[114]
On 2 September 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Granada, which was also his 200th career goal in league matches played in England, Spain and Portugal. He added another goal which was his 150th goal for Real Madrid in all competitions in 149 matches played. This goal made him the 10th highest scorer for Real Madrid in all competitions. Ronaldo was substituted at the 63rd minute by team mate Gonzalo Higuain, due to a minor thigh injury.^[115]

Unhappy claim

After the match, Ronaldo claimed that he was unhappy with a "professional issue" after he refused to celebrate his 149th and 150th goals for the club.^[116] Several of his teammates claimed that Ronaldo had the full support of the team.^{[117][118][119]} Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, insisted that he always knew about his client's admission that he was unhappy with life at Real Madrid.^[120] Ronaldo dismissed the notion that his post-match declaration of "sadness" was related to a desire for a new and improved contract at the club.^[121] Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, claimed that Ronaldo did not want to leave the club, and that he is unhappy for other reasons.^[122] Former Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, stated that Ronaldo is under a lot of pressure and would not have realized the impact of his revelation.^[123] When he returned to Real Madrid, after international duty, Ronaldo stated he is focused on achieving further success with the club.^[124][125] Real Madrid coach José Mourinho stated "If Ronaldo is sad but plays like he does, that's perfect for me",^[126] and believed that UEFA's decision to elect Iniesta as the best player in Europe in 2011–12 could have been one of the reasons behind Ronaldo's unhappiness.^[127]

Comeback

On 15 September, Ronaldo appeared in Real Madrid's fourth league match in a 1–0 away loss against Sevilla.^[128] On 18 September, Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 3–2 victory over Manchester City.^[129] On 30 September, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick (including two penalties), his first La Liga hat-trick of the season, in a 5–1 win over Deportivo de La Coruña.^[130][131] On 4 October, Ronaldo scored his first career hat-trick in Champions League as he led Real Madrid to a 4–1 victory over Ajax.^[132] In the following week, Ronaldo again scored a brace of two goals against Barcelona, in a match which ended at 2–2 draw at Camp Nou, which made him the first and only player to score in 6 consecutive El Clasico's.^[133] Ronaldo than scored his fifth Champions League goal in a 2–1 away loss against Borussia Dortmund on 24 October 2012. On 28 October 2012, Ronaldo scored a brace in the 5–0 away win against Mallorca.
On 11 November, Ronaldo started as a striker in a 2–1 away win over Levante, as both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín were injured.^[134] In the match, he received an horrific elbow to the eye in the second minute, but scored his twelfth La Liga goal to give Madrid the lead, before being substituted at half-time.^[135] For the injury, José Mourinho had to say: "He's dizzy. In the first half he was unable to see properly with that eye, but during the break he couldn't see properly with either. So it was impossible for him to continue."^[136] This led to that Ronaldo was examined from the Portugal squad for the friendly game against Gabon.^[137] On 21 November, he appeared in Madrid's 1–1 Champions League group stage draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The match represented the first time that Ronaldo played in Manchester since leaving City's rival, Manchester United, for Madrid in 2009.^[138] On 1 December, after not scoring in his previous three games, Ronaldo scored a goal from a free-kick and assisted Mesut Özil to score the second goal, in a 2–0 victory over Atletico Madrid.^[139]

2011–12 season

Real Madrid's pre-season began with a 4–1 victory over MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy,^[106] with goals from Callejón, Joselu, Ronaldo, and Benzema.^[107] Four days later Ronaldo scored a second half hat-trick in a 3–0 win against Guadalajara. Ronaldo's preseason performance was highly praised as world media kept hailing Ronaldo's extreme competitiveness and motivation, even during friendly matches. On 17 August 2011, Ronaldo scored his 100th goal with Real Madrid with a first-half equaliser against Barcelona in the second leg of the 2011 Spanish Supercup in the Camp Nou. On 27 August 2011, he opened the 2011–12 La Liga season with a hat-trick in a 6–0 win at Real Zaragoza.
In the first weeks of September, Ronaldo's physical performance was subject to scrutiny by world media, after Castrol released a television film named Ronaldo: Tested to the Limit where he was put to test in several fields, including mental and physical. Conclusions from the movie and doctors in the weeks following claimed that Ronaldo was one of the best athletes in the world, excelling in football and outstanding in almost every other category.^{[citation needed]} Several sources^{[weasel words]} drew comparisons between him and other top athletes, including sprinter Usain Bolt.^{[citation needed]} On 24 September, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick (including two penalties) in Real Madrid's 6–2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabéu. This was his ninth La Liga hat-trick and tenth hat-trick for Real Madrid.
On 27 September, Ronaldo scored Real's opening goal in a 3–0 victory over Ajax at the Santiago Bernabéu in the UEFA Champions League. On 22 October, after not scoring in his previous three games, Ronaldo scored his tenth La Liga hat-trick and eleventh in total for Real Madrid in a match away to Málaga, which Real Madrid won 4–0. His twelfth Real Madrid hat-trick followed on 6 November, in a 7–1 victory over Osasuna that ensured Madrid stayed top of the table heading into the international break.^[108] On 19 November 2011, Ronaldo scored Real's second goal in a 2–3 defeat of Valencia. On 26 November 2011, Ronaldo scored two penalties in a 4–1 defeat of Atlético Madrid in the El Derbi madrileño. On 3 December 2011, Ronaldo scored Madrid's second goal in a 0–3 defeat of Sporting de Gijón in La Liga. He was one of the three finalists for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 13 December 2011, Ronaldo scored the second goal against SD Ponferradina in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round 4, the match ended in a 0–2 win. On 17 December 2011, Ronaldo scored his twelfth La Liga hat-trick and thirteenth overall in a 6–2 win away to Sevilla.
Ronaldo was third in the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, behind Lionel Messi and Xavi, and second in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, behind Lionel Messi and ahead of Xavi. In Real Madrid's next game in La Liga at home to Granada Ronaldo scored the fifth goal in a 5–1 win. He was notably criticised in the public media^[who?] for not celebrating the goal. On 22 January 2012, Ronaldo scored two penalties in a 4–1 win over Athletic Bilbao, and on 28 January scored Real Madrid's second and winning goal in a 3–1 win against Zaragoza. Ronaldo also scored two goals against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Quarter-finals, which Real lost 4–3 on aggregrate. On 12 February 2012, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, his thirteenth in La Liga and fourteenth for Real Madrid, in a 4–2 home win over Levante. This win stretched Real Madrid's lead over second-placed Barcelona to 10 points.
On 24 March 2012, Ronaldo reached more than 100 goals in La Liga in just three season at Real Madrid when he scored the first of his two goals in the match against Real Sociedad, the second quickest La Liga player to reach that milestone in the league after Isidro Lángara, reaching the milestone in 92 matches and breaking the previous club record held by Puskás.^[109] As of 24 March 2012, Ronaldo had averaged 1.01 goals per game in La Liga.
On 11 April, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in a 1–4 win, as well as assisting the last goal. His hat-trick, one goal from a free kick, one from 30 yards on the left wing and one penalty, gave him 40 league goals in the season, making him the only player in La Liga history, or in any other major European league, to score 40 goals in two seasons, even doing so in consecutive seasons. Ronaldo officially broke his previous record of 40 goals in a La Liga season on 14 April, scoring in a 3–1 win against Sporting Gijón.
On 13 May 2012, the last matchday, Ronaldo scored against Mallorca which made him the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.^[10] He finished the season with a total of 46 league goals and 60 goals in every competition, breaking the Real Madrid record he had set the previous season. In May, Ronaldo claimed that he believed that he had played better than Lionel Messi this season,^[110] and on 13 June, he won the Trofeo Alfredo Di Stefano as the best La Liga player of the season.

2010–11 season

With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Ronaldo was handed the No. 7 jersey for Real Madrid.^[87] On 23 October 2010, Ronaldo scored four goals against Racing de Santander,^[88] the most goals he has ever scored in a single match.^[89] This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and two for Portugal) in which Ronaldo scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the most Ronaldo has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrid's 5–0 defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over Athletic Bilbao.^[90] His final match of the calendar year saw him score a hat-trick in a 8–0 trashing of Levante in the Copa del Ronaldo began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, especially after Real Madrid acknowledged he had broken numerous goalscoring records, previously settled and held by classic players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez, and Manuel Alday.^[92][93] Ronaldo began his scoring spree by scoring two vital goals in a tight 3–2 victory away to Getafe.^[94] He then consolidated his massive performances by scoring a hat-trick and assisting Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, in a 4–2 victory over Villarreal on 9 January. One game away from the middle of the season, Ronaldo had a very clear chance of breaking Telmo Zarra's and Hugo Sánchez's record of 38 League goals in a single season, since he was the league's top scorer with 22 goals, above Lionel Messi.^[95][96] However, shortly after, Ronaldo experienced the biggest goal drought in his entire career, scoring only 2 goals in more than a month. During this period, Real Madrid acknowledged to have hit the crossbar more than 12 times in the season, most of the shots belonging to Ronaldo and almost all having happened during crucial moments in drawn matches.^[97] Ronaldo then made a massive comeback by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 trashing of Málaga on 3 March 2011, but was affected by a muscle injury at the end of the match, which forced him to spend 10 days on the sidelines.goals in Champions League quarter-finals against Tottenham Hotspur), thus arriving to the first of a historical series of four El Clásico encounters two goals short of breaking his personal record of 42 goals in all competitions in a single season, achieved at Manchester United in the 2007–08 season.
During the second league edition of El Clásico, Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot and took his tally to 41 goals, also taking his scoring streak to four games. On 20 April, Ronaldo scored the winning goal against Barcelona in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final.^[98] This goal would later be chosen as both Ronaldo's and Real Madrid's best goal in the season by several fan polls, including those of Marca^[99] and Real Madrid's website.^[100] 7 May saw Real travel to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to take on Sevilla, where Ronaldo led the thrashing of a woeful Andalusian side, scoring four goals in a 6–2 victory. These four goals took him to 46 for the season which surpassed his previous record of 42 in a season playing for Manchester United.^[101] Three days later he reached 49 goals for the season, by scoring another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win against Getafe. On 15 May, after scoring two free-kick goals in a 3–1 win over Villarreal, he equalled the La Liga record with most goals in a season with 38, a record previously held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez.
On 21 May, he scored two goals in the last league match of the season against Almería, taking his Pichichi total to 41, and La Liga total to 40, becoming the only player to score 40 goals in a La Liga season. By doing this, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different leagues. The sports newspaper Marca, who awards the Pichichi Trophy, included the goal scored on 18 September 2010 against Real Sociedad in Ronaldo's goal count, which had been officially attributed to Pepe.^[102] Should this goal be granted to Ronaldo, his goal count in the Pichichi Trophy would tally 41 goals. Ronaldo also broke Zarra's record of most goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. However, regardless of this goal polemic, Ronaldo's record-breaking figures became a source of major attention from public media, such as being included in the Sports Illustrated World XI,^[103] rating him as one of the world's best footballers. Accounting for all competitions, Ronaldo ended the season with a total of 53 goals (not granting him the controversial goal from Pepe), having scored 25 goals with his right foot (excluding free-kicks and penalty-kicks) and 9 with his left foot.^[104]

Real Madrid 2009–10 season

On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Ronaldo would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€93.9 million) becoming the most expensive footballer in history,^[70] after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.^[71] Ronaldo's contract is worth €11 million per year^[4] and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.^[72] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,^[73] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.^[74] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano.^[75] Ronaldo was welcomed by between 80,000 and 85,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.^[76][77] The event was broadcasted live on the Spanish and Portuguese public TV stations, RTVE and RTP respectively.[7week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over LDU Quito.^[80] On 29 August, Ronaldo capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña.^[81] On 15 September, Ronaldo scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real.^[82] He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.^[83]
An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Ronaldo was on international duty with Portugal against Hungary,^[84] kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Ronaldo made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.^[85] He was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. On 5 May 2010 Ronaldo scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.^[86]

2006–2009

The 2006–2007 season proved to be the breakout year for Ronaldo, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.
In November and December 2006, Ronaldo received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.^[30][31] He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.
Despite rumours circulating in March 2007 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo,^[32] he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.^[33][34]
Ronaldo amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour.^[35] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. He also won the PFA Fans' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Manchester United 2003–2006

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player when he signed for €15 million^[23] (£12.24 million) after the 2002–03 season.^[24] He requested the number 28 (his number at Sporting), as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt, which had previously been worn by players such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'No, you're going to have No. 7,' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour."^[25]
Ronaldo made his team debut as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free kick in a 3–0 win over Portsmouth on 1 November 2003. Ronaldo ended his first season in English football by scoring the opening goal in United's 3–0 FA Cup final victory over Millwall.^[26]
He scored United's 1000th Premier League goal on 29 October 2005 in a 4–1 loss to Middlesbrough.^[27] He scored ten goals in all competitions, and fans voted him to his first FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award in 2005.
He was sent off in the Manchester derby at the City of Manchester Stadium on 14 January 2006 (a game which United lost 3–1) for kicking City's former United player Andrew Cole.^[28]
Ronaldo won his second trophy in English football in the 2005–06 season, scoring the third goal in Manchester United's 4–0 Football League Cup final victory over Wigan Athletic.^[29]

Sporting Clube de Portugal

Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Academia Sporting, the club's football academy, in Alcochete. He became the only player ever to play for Sporting's under-16, under-17, under-18, B-team, and the first team, all within one season.^[17] He scored two goals in his league debut on 7 October 2002, which Sporting CP won 3–0 against Moreirense, while featuring for Portugal in the 2002 European Under-17 Championship.^[18]
At the age of 15 Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart, a condition that might have forced him to give up playing football. The Sporting staff were made aware of the condition and Ronaldo's mother gave her authorisation for him to go into hospital. While there, he had an operation in which a laser was used to cauterise the area of his heart that was causing the problem. The surgery took place in the morning and Ronaldo was discharged from hospital by the end of the afternoon; he resumed training only a few days later.^[19]
In November 2002, Ronaldo was invited to Arsenal's training ground, London Colney to meet manager Arsène Wenger and his coaching staff.^[20] Wenger, who was interested in signing the midfielder had arranged to meet Ronaldo's representatives, Formation (who suggested the player originally to Gérard Houllier, then Liverpool's manager) in the subsequent months to discuss a transfer arrangement.^[21] However he came to the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting defeated United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Ronaldo's performance impressed the Manchester United players, who urged Ferguson to sign him.^[22]