Despite 807 goals, Ronaldo is not the greatest

Record goal haul

Cristiano Ronaldo took his overall goal tally to an astonishing 807 after he scored a hat-trick for Manchester United against Tottenham last week. It was the first time the Portuguese had scored three in a single game for the Red Devils since 2008 and guided them to a 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo declared himself “tremendously happy” and current and former players lined up to pay tribute to the 37-year-old. Some claimed he had become FIFA’s all-time top scorer, surpassing Austrian-Czech Josef Bican who scored 805 during a career that spanned around 25 years from 1931.

However, there are no definitive figures held by FIFA and, according to the BBC, the Czech FA says Bican, who died in 2001, scored 821 goals.

Unofficial statisticians RSSSF (Rec. Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation) now claim Bican scored more than 950 goals including amateur and reserve games.

Brazil legend Pele claims on his Instagram that he scored a total of career 1,283 goals – domestically and internationally - while Romario and Ferenc Puskas are all in the 700s. Lionel Messi is next on 759 goals for Argentina (80), Barcelona (672) and Paris St-Germain (seven).

International record holder

What we do know definitively is that Ronaldo is the greatest men’s international goalscorer of all-time with 115 goals for which he was honoured with The Best FIFA Special Award in February 2022.

Ronaldo now leads the helm ahead of Iran’s Ali Daei (109), Mokhtar Dahari – who scored 89 for Malaysia – Hungarian great Puskas (84) and Messi (80). But what of the claims that he is the ‘best ever’? If we are going purely on the numbers of goals scored, we simply don’t know.

And by that token, would we immediately call to mind the likes of Daei and Dahari who could lay claim to being among the ‘best ever’ international scorers by virtue of their undisputed prolific records?

Or the ‘best ever’ player? How do we measure that? For if it’s by goals scored, there are a lot of great players out there who would never be considered by virtue of them being midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick against Tottenham took him to a staggering 807 career goals

Ronaldo roll call

Ronaldo has had an astonishing career since making his debut for Sporting Lisbon on 14 August 2002. The 17-year-old came off the bench during Sporting’s third qualifying round first leg against Inter Milan, a match which finished goalless but which marked the first moment of a great talent’s professional career.

Sporting had a tradition of nurturing talent with the young Ronaldo following a path already trodden by Paulo Futre, Luis Figo, Simão Sabrosa and Ricardo Quaresma.

Top European clubs were soon alerted with Gerard Houllier and Arsene Wenger keen to bring the young Portuguese to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, but Alex Ferguson was determined he would become a Manchester United player.

So it came to be and Ronaldo arrived in north-west England as the most expensive teenager in English football history with a price tag of £12.24million, and made his debut against Bolton Wanderers on 16 August 2003. His record reads:

A five-time Ballon d'Or winner - in 2008 (with Man Utd) and 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 (all with Real Madrid).

A five-time Champions League winner in 2008 (with Man Utd), and 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (all with Real Madrid).

Won seven league titles in three major leagues in 2007, 2008, 2009 (all with Man Utd), 2012 and 2017 (with Real Madrid) and 2019 and 2020 (with Juventus).

European Championship winner with Portugal in 2016.

Winner of 32 trophies for club and country with Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Portugal.

All-time Champions League leading scorer with 141 goals.

What about...?

Ronaldo’s is a career of astonishing longevity at the very top, something he has attributed to his relentless hard work towards new goals, physical and mental.

There is no doubt he is great but it’s a subject that leads to endless whataboutery. Alfredo di Stefano scored 49 in 58 European Cup ties – does this make him the best ever?

Paolo Maldini reigned supreme in the AC Milan defence for 25 years and what of Franz Beckenbauer? Cafu – the most-capped Brazilian who twice lifted the World Cup?

Many ex-pros speak of the Brazilian Ronaldo as ‘the greatest’ while Johan Cruyff so dazzled his opposition he had a move named after him and left an onfield legacy. And, of course, Pele.

Why even try?

Being a football supporter is deeply personal. If it was about following the best in England we would currently all be watching Manchester City and Liverpool.

If it was about emotionless objectivity, there would not have been the wave of emotion that greeted Marcelo Bielsa’s exit from Leeds as the Yorkshire side lurched from one heavy defeat to the next.

Nor would 2,009 have looked on as Scunthorpe’s relegation from the Football League drew one step closer with defeat against Barrow last week.

Do we choose our football teams by sitting down and coldly weighing up pros and cons? Maybe some do, choosing their team based on past and present success.

But for most of us, the bond and the reason why runs way deeper than that. It’s about passion, the highs and lows, keeping the faith through thin and thinner and  often it can turn a rational person deeply irrational.

So why do we feel the need to categorise the ‘best ever’? Is it not anti-football? Anti-sport? Ronaldo is certainly a great and one it is a privilege to have watched during a 20-year career at the top.

But the greatest? How do we measure that and why do we even try?