288 appearances. 300 goals.
There's a term they use in sport science - outlier.
Basically, it's a nice way to label someone a freak without actually calling them a freak. You're just saying that they lie outside the curve.
A freak suggests something flukey, you see. Something not right. But it also suggests something so completely out of the ordinary that it goes against the laws of physics.
Cristiano Ronaldo is an outlier. Heck, he is a freak of nature.
Last night, he bagged his 423rd professional goal when he put Real Madrid in front at Rayo Vallecano with a diving header. In doing so, he scored his 37th league goal in just 27 games. He also marked his 300th strike for Los Blancos.
Imagine in years to come when your kids are talking about some run-of-the-mill the-next-David-Bentley footballer. We'll all be harking back to our day when Ronaldo was in his unstoppable pomp.
Here's our ode to the greatest...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6zO8EiswNU
1. He scores more than he plays
Remember the days when scoring a goal every other game meant you were out of this world? Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have gone and ruined that with their frightening and unprecedented rise in standards. If they're not at least chipping in with a goal a game, it's not good enough. The bare minimum nowadays is double what the very best used to be.
2. He's going to blitz Raul
It hasn't even taken Ronaldo six full years to rack up 300 goals at Madrid. He currently sits 23 off the club's all-time record held by Spanish hero Raul. Ronaldo has potentially 13 more games left this season - you wouldn't put it past him hitting 23 in the next month.
It will take Ronaldo just seven seasons to obliterate a record Raul spent 16 years working on.
3. He has it all
There's nothing Cristiano Ronaldo can't do. Nothing. He scores every type of goal every single week and he's the only man we'll probably ever see with all the guile of a nimble ballerina combined with explosive power that would knock you half way into next week.
4. His set pieces
Ronaldo might not have scored a free-kick in a while but he has nailed some of the finest strikes from a dead ball we are ever going to see. He's the only player you would never waste hitting a corner to because he's the biggest threat in the air and his penalty record - especially in comparison with Messi - is superb.
5. He seems like a good laugh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pMQSqUsWgE
6. His hunger
Often confused with being selfish, Ronaldo's insatiable hunger is what sets him apart from ordinary man.
It's what has got him to where he is today and it's why, even at 30, he's still breaking records and striving to improve his legacy. Ronaldo is a savage when it comes to working on every aspect of his game, and it shows.
7. He's better than Messi
What can Messi do that Ronaldo can't?
Ronaldo, on the other hand, can head a ball better than anyone, he can hit a penalty with confidence and he can out-muscle the toughest defenders who dare to stand in his way.
Messi and Ronaldo are the greatest players of all time but the Portuguese's aggression both mentally and physically, and his polished attributes set him apart.
Sit back and enjoy his 300 goals for Real Madrid in not even six seasons so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1zx3bYd6HM
