Cristiano Ronaldo: 6 games that defined the Real Madrid superstar's career

4. Manchester United vs Arsenal – Semi-finals, UEFA Champions League 2009

This was peak Ronaldo. This was what you got when you mixed the sheer entertainment of his youth and the unparalleled efficiency of the Ronaldo we know now. This was unstoppable Ronaldo.

Arsenal weren’t all that shabby a side – you don’t make the semifinals of the Champions league by being that – but they were eviscerated at the Emirates that night by a man who was without a shadow of a doubt Lionel Messi’s equal as the best player in the world. He scored a worldie – a 40 yard hammer-shot of a freekick from a ridiculuous angle – and the counter-attack to end all counter-attacks. In reality he could have bagged five that night.

This came at the end of a season where he wanted to force a may to Real Madrid, and the last three months of his time at United saw some of the best footballing displays England has ever seen. This was the zenith.