5 Milestones Cristiano Ronaldo can reach in 2015/16 season

It is said of Alexander the Great that when he once saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there was no more worlds to conquer. However, Real Madrid starlet Cristiano Ronaldo may be oblivious to the feeling.The Portuguese international, season after season, week after week and game after game, manages to re-write history books with another piece of achievement he conjures and yet, is never like the cat that’s got the cream.Right from the first game of the season to the last, the indefatigable winger is always on the prowl of another landmark and it is this immense drive of his to leave a stamp on almost everything that there is in football, actually allows him to do so.The new season is just seven days away and one can expect Ronaldo to enter the campaign in the same vein- to be the best. Here are the 5 milestones he’ll definitely be having in his to-do-list for the new season, to enhance his reputation as one of the greats of all time.

#5 Highest scorer in Champions League for Real Madrid

Ronaldo is already the joint top-scorer in Champions League along with Lionel Messi

Europe’s holy grail, the Champions League, has been one of Ronaldo’s favourite hunting grounds. The Portuguese international currently stands atop the scoring charts with his eternal rival from Barcelona, with 77 goals each. While 15 of them have come during his Manchester United days, the other 62 have come in Real Madrid colours.

While his climb to the top of Europe’s most prolific players is startling, Ronaldo still isn’t the highest for his club, though. The record is still held by the club legend Raul, who has 66 goals in Europe with Blancos. Although his all-time tally rises to 71, the 5 extra strikes he had amassed had come while plying his trade with the Bundesliga side, Schalke.

However, the honour is set to go to his former team-mate soon as he is hot on the heels of Raul for the record, trailing with just by 4 goals.

Given the exceptional scoring boots of Ronaldo in Europe’s premier club competition, it is only a matter of time that we see him surpass the Spanish veteran here as well.

#4 All-time highest scorer of Madrid derby

Ronaldo has scored 15 times against city rivals Atletico

Since the date of joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo has featured against the crosstown rivals Atletico for over 20 times. And after Sevilla, they appear to be his next favourite punching bag as the Portuguese has plundered 15 strikes thus far, against them.

Los Blancos legends Alfredo di Stefano and Santiago Bernabeu currently hold the distinction for being the all-time highest scorers in the Madrid derby with 17 goals each, but the record now appears to be under threat as the 30-year old maestro is lurking just around the corner.

With the two sides set to clash for at least twice this season, like any other, it seems foreseeable that Ronaldo will be able to add this feather to his cap this campaign.

#3 500 career goals

Ronaldo has maintained an incredible ratio of over a goal per game in Spain

To have a half a chiliad of goals in the bag is a dream that every forward vouches for, but there are very few who actually go on to realise it. Ronaldo will soon join the distinguished class of players to have registered at least 500 official goals in their top-flight career.

5 for Sporting CP, another 118 for Manchester United and add another 313 in Real colours, Ronaldo has racked up a massive 491 strikes in his career so far and needs just 9 more to add another leaf in his hat.

Gerd Muller, Arthur Friedenreich, Pele, Franz Binder, Romario, Eusebio, Ferenc Puskas and Josef Bican are the nine veterans to have struck at least 500 times in their career and Ronaldo has a chance to be the 10th man on the list.

For the record, Messi needs 40 more goals to emulate the feat.

#2 Only the second player to surpass Telmo Zarra in La Liga

Lionel Messi overtook Telmo Zarra as La Liga’s all-time top scorer in 2014/15 season

After just 6 seasons in La Liga, Ronaldo has already outnumbered the likes of Carlos Santillana and Ferenc Puskas in the all-time goalscorer list and now sits 6th with 225 goals in 200 league games, just 2 behind club legend Alfredo di Stefano and one more behind Raul. But the one man he’ll be targetting to beat this season is Telmo Zarra.

The Athletic Bilbao legend held the record for being the most prolific goalscorer in the Spanish league with 251 goals until Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shattered the long-standing record last November and usurped him for the crown. While beating his rival is certainly not on the cards, surpassing Zarra definitely is.

27 more goals in La Liga and he’ll become only the second player in the last 60 years to better the Zarra’s tally. And midway, he will also become the all-time top-scorer in La Liga for Real Madrid.

#1 All time top scorer of Real Madrid

Ronaldo played one season with Raul in Real Madrid

The greatest moment in a player’s career arrives when he sees his name atop the most prolific goalscorers in the history of the club. It’s an achievement to behold and one that puts a player forever in the club’s folklore. Ronaldo now stands on the cusp of doing the same.

In his 6-year spell with the capital club, the 30-year old boisterous winger has earned exactly 300 caps, but what is worth mentioning, is the 313 goals he has accrued in the process. A 1.04 goal/game ratio, that’s worth dying for!

His acute penchant to rack up goals left, right and centre has seen him climb up Real’s scoring charts faster than Macau’s GDP. Currently, second on the all-time list, all Ronaldo needs is 10 more goals to overhaul club legend Raul from the throne. The Spaniard is currently the most prolific with 323 strikes to his name, albeit, with over 700 appearances.

The former Manchester United can, moreover, equal as well as surpass it, with less than half the number of appearances.

Ronaldo has long been a record breaker, but this one’s the one that will set his nerves tingling the most once the season kicks off.