For someone named Ronaldo, taking up professional football could have turned out to be a huge risk, because of the weight of the name. The Brazilian Ronaldo was one of the greatest players to ever play the beautiful game, so when a young Cristiano Ronaldo sped through the left-hand side at Manchester United, he was regularly reminded of the legacy he had to stand up to. Yet, it is a testament to the strength of character of the player who has come so far that he hasn't just lived up to the reputation of the name, but most certainly surpassed it.
For more than a decade, Ronaldo has won everything there is to win in club football and has broken records at will. His intense competition with Messi has gotten better over the years and the two of them have pushed each other to the limits of perfection. There has been a million debates held about who is the better of them, a discussion which has perhaps touched every football lover in the world and has added a fanatic charm to the beautiful game.
The Portuguese has, over the years, regularly created history and has registered his name in the Guinness World Records. Today, we take a look at 6 Guinness World Records held by Cristiano Ronaldo that you probably did not hear about.
#6 Most viewed Wikipedia page for an athlete (Male)
Ever since breaking into the scene more than a decade ago, the Portuguese has attracted loyal fan followings all around the world. His tricks, his speed, his goal-scoring prowess has embedded into the imagination of his followers and as such, his presence in social media is unrivalled. Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid and then recently to Juventus, but his fan following stayed loyal to the Portuguese.
As such, it is hardly a surprise that he is the most followed athlete on social media. However, what truly astonishes us is that he is dominant is Wikipedia too. The Cristiano Ronaldo page on Wikipedia is the most viewed among male athlete on Wikipedia. From 1st December 2007 to 30th June 2016, his page in Wikipedia was viewed a Guinness World Record 48 trillion times approximately!
#5 Most liked Person on Facebook
The World is divided over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo; and there are also a lot of people in the world who do not like the Portuguese - Manchester United fans who were hurt by his departure, Real Madrid fans who did not want him to leave and rival fans who wished he played for their team. But on Facebook, Cristiano Ronaldo has the most likes and his page is the most liked page on Facebook.
On 23rd August 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo's official page on Facebook had 116,574,509 likes, which put him ahead of Columbian Vocalist Shakira and Actor Vin Diesel as the most liked person on Facebook. As of now, Ronaldo has over 122 million likes on Facebook and is followed by almost 121 million people. As such, Cristiano Ronaldo has the Guinness World Record of being the most liked person on Facebook, a feat he achieved in 2016 and has still managed to hold on to.
#4 Most successful penalties taken by a player in LaLiga
The Portuguese is often taunted because of the number of goals he scores from penalties, but there is no denying the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is a fabulous penalty taker. In fact, he has the record of taking the most penalties in LaLiga history - 72. Interestingly, he has scored 61 of them, which is also the most goals scored from penalties in La Liga history and it is by the power of his penalty taking that he registered another Guinness World Record.
Real Madrid welcomed UD Las Palmas on 1st March 2017 in the La Liga, however, a Gareth Bale red card meant that they were trailing 1-3 at home with just 4 minutes of normal time left. In the 86th minute, a James Rodriguez cross struck the hand of Castellano in the box and Real were awarded a penalty.
Up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo to slot home his 58th spot kick in La Liga, which saw him move 2 clear of Hugo Sanchez's long-standing record of 56 spot kicks. Ronaldo registered the Guinness World Record of most successful penalties taken and it is a record that still has his name on it till date.
#3 Most consecutive Champions League matches scored in (Individual)
The 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season was sensational for Real Madrid, as they lifted the trophy for the 3rd time in three years. It also marked another milestone in the career of the tournament's favourite son, Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored for 11 consecutive games and registered a Guinness World Record.
The record-breaking run started from the final of the 2016/17 season when the Portuguese scored a brace against Juventus. Ronaldo started the 2017/18 season with a brace against APOEL in the first game of the group stages. He scored another brace against Borussia Dortmund in the second game and then found the net again in the home game against Tottenham.
In the away game against the English side, Ronaldo scored Real's only goal in a humiliating loss. The Portuguese registered a brace in the 5th game of the group stages against APOEL and then scored against Dortmund at home to continue his goal scoring run.
In the knockout stages, Ronaldo scored in both legs against PSG in the round of 16. He then found the back of the net in both legs against Juventus in the Quarterfinals, which meant that he had scored in 11 consecutive games in the tournament and had registered a Guinness World Record.
#2 Oldest Player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup
Spain faced Portugal in the opening game of Group B in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as the whole world looked forward to a clash between the titans of the football world. Spain were the 2010 Champions and boasted few of the best players of the World in their team. In reply, Portugal had Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese lit up the tie on the night.
As early as the 4th minute, Ronaldo won a penalty and converted it himself to give his team the lead. However, Spain came back into the game with a well taken Diego Costa goal in the 24th minute. A minute before the break, Ronaldo gave Portugal the lead yet again, after a howler by David De Gea. 10 minutes into the second half, Costa had brought Spain level yet again and within 3 minutes, Spain had the lead for the first time in the game.
However, the night belonged to Ronaldo, who scored in the 88th minute, got Portugal a vital point and completed his hat-trick. By doing so, Ronaldo created another Guinness World Record - he became the Oldest player to get a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup, aged 33 years and 130 days.
#1 Most Goals in a European Football Club Competition (single season)
In the 2010/11 season, Radamel Falcao created a Guinness World Record for the most goals in a single season of a European Club Competition, when he scored 17 goals in the UEFA Europa League. In the 2013/14 season, Ronaldo equalled this record, scoring a stunning 17 goals in the UEFA Champions League!
Ronaldo started the season with a hat-trick against Galatasaray and followed it up with a brace against Copenhagen. He then scored both goals in a 2-1 home win over Juventus and also found the net in the away draw at Turin. The Portuguese missed out on Real's 4-1 thumping of Galatasaray at home but scored again in the away win against Copenhagen. He finished the group stages with 9 goals!
In the round of 16, Ronaldo registered a brace in both the away leg and the home leg against Schalke 04. In the Quarter Finals, he scored at the Bernabeu against Dortmund, but could not find the net in the away leg. He returned to his goal scoring form in the second leg of the Semi-Finals against Bayern, scoring a Brace at the Allianz Arena. The Portuguese found the net again in the final against Atletico Madrid, registering 17 goals for the season, a record that has not been broken yet.