The European Football Association (UEFA) has announced to honour the former Real Madrid and Manchester United Icon Cristiano Ronaldo with special recognition for being the all-time top-scorer of the most prestigious club competition in the world— the UEFA Champions League.
The Special award will be presented during the draw ceremony of Monaco’s newly introduced format of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League edition. The Al-Nassr star, Ronaldo stands as the competition’s all-time top-scorer after bagging a remarkable 140 goals tally in a total of 183 appearances for Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the brightest stars in the UEFA Champions League constellation,” said, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, “His extraordinary goal-scoring achievements in the competition seem destined to stand the test of time, posing a remarkable challenge for future generations to surpass.”
The statement added, “His sustained excellence at the highest level is a testament to his relentless pursuit of both team and individual honours. Over more than two decades, he has continuously evolved and refined his game while preserving a youthful passion for scoring and celebrating goals.”
“His professionalism, work ethic, dedication, and ability to shine on the grandest stage are qualities that football players everywhere should aspire to emulate,” Čeferin said further.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Incredible UEFA Champions League in Figures
Appearances: The Five-time Ballon Dor winner has made 183 Champions League appearances during his stint in Europe while playing for four of the biggest clubs in the main-land, Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Goals: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored an extraordinary 140 competition goals with the most hattricks in the tournament – eight.
Assists: Acclaimed as a prolific goal scorer, the Portuguese International is also UCL’s most assists provider, with 42 assists in his name.
Top scorer: The former Juventus striker finished as competition’s top scorer in seven campaigns (2007-08, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15*, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18).
Titles: The 39-year-old forward has lifted the Champions League title on five occasions with Manchester United and Real Madrid (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Notable Individual records: During the 2013-14 campaign he netted 17 goals the most by any player in a single season in Champions League history and enjoyed the longest goal-scoring streak of 11 games respectively with Los Blancos.
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