Top 5 Cristiano Ronaldo assists

Real Madrid CF v Cordoba CF - La Liga
Ronaldo celebrates

Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport. Starting off as a winger, Ronaldo remodelled his game and developed into more of a goalscorer post his move to Real Madrid. He hasn't looked back since. What followed was tonnes and tonnes of goals of all kinds.

Free-kicks, headers, penalties, right-footed rockets and left-footed curlers - Ronaldo can score them all. Some even consider him the greatest goalscorer of all time, and his astounding performances in big occasions of late have only added to the cause. Ronaldo's goalscoring exploits are downright filthy, and his name features frequently in the record books.

However, many times, Ronaldo has stunned us all with his vision too. He has often opted to thread a gorgeous through ball for a teammate instead of going for goal himself. Truth be told, the other side of the Portuguese is just as pleasing to watch as the side which make the tabloids on a daily basis.

Be it with Manchester United, Real Madrid or the Portuguese national team, there have been several instances where Ronaldo brought out the playmaker in him for us to see. Today, we take a look at five of his very best assists till date. Heads up, some of them are so good that even the de Bruynes and the Ozils would be impressed.


#5 Real Madrid vs Espanyol (for José María Callejón)

This was one of the best examples of Real Madrid's lightning quick counter-attacking football under Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid were desperately trying to end Barcelona's dominance in Spain started by Pep Guardiola. They went into the match five points behind Barcelona, though it was still early days. Madrid travelled to Espanyol and raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain brace.

Then, in the 84th minute, Ronaldo received the ball near the middle and raced towards the Espanyol goal. With only one defender to beat, Cristiano opted to find his onrushing teammate Callejón instead, who had a better chance of scoring.

Ronaldo attempted - and pulled off - his signature Ronaldo-chop skill to comfortably beat his marker, before threading a through ball for Callejón. The Spaniard, with only the goalkeeper to beat, made no mistake. 3-0. An example of great composure from Ronaldo where most would've been thinking about shooting at goal.

The match ended 4-0 after Higuain completed his hat-trick.

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#4 Manchester United vs Aston Villa (for Wayne Rooney)

Manchester United v Liverpool - Premier League
*****

Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez formed one of the most delightful trios in the Premier League. The three combined gracefully, and the Old Trafford faithful were treated to footballing greatness whilst the three still remained. A small part of that greatness is this ridiculously simple, yet beautiful goal against Aston Villa, the last of a 4-0 rout.

Ronaldo found himself on the edge of the opposition box and must have thought about going for goal - given the sensational form he was in at that time. However, he chose to find Wayne Rooney instead who was left free by the Villa defence.

Ronaldo crept a pass through the defender's legs - a nutmeg - and found Rooney. All the Englishman had to do was slot it past the goalkeeper Scott Carso, which he did with considerable ease.

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#3 Portugal vs USA (for Silvestre Varela)

Argentina v Portugal - International Friendly
*****

A World Cup classic, this goal just had to be on the list. Portugal were on the brink of an early and embarrassing elimination, as they went into the 4th minute of added time in the group stage match against the USA, trailing 1-2.

Fans of the Portuguese national team were crying out loud for something to come up - perhaps yet another goal from their hero Cristiano Ronaldo. Contrary to expectations, this time, Ronaldo acted as the provider.

Ronaldo galloped down the right wing, towards the byline, and scanned the opposition box for Portuguese heads. Substitute Silvestre Varela appeared to make a run from a deepish position, who was then set up by a perfect curling cross from Cristiano. Varela couldn't miss. The cross was telegraphed.

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#2 Manchester United vs Birmingham City (for Carlos Tevez)

Manchester United v Manchester City - Premier League
Ronaldo and Tevez

This goal from the boot of Carlos Tevez wasn't just a delight to watch, but a hugely important goal too. On New Year's day, 2008, Birmingham visited Manchester United. The hosts were trailing Arsenal in the league and needed to keep winning to stay in the hunt for the title. United did eventually manage to win the game by a goal to nil, thanks to an example of sublime brilliance involving Ronaldo and Tevez.

Tevez did brilliantly to find Ronaldo with an overhead kick, and the Portuguese international duly returned the favour with a piece of magic of his own - a perfectly attempted back-heel pass to set Tevez through on goal, who scored the winner. It proved to be a massive strike as United pipped Arsenal to win the title in May.

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#1 Manchester United vs Aston Villa (for Wayne Rooney)

Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers - Premier League
Rooney and Ronaldo

This isn't just another assist. This is a moment of pure magic from the famed right boot of Cristiano Ronaldo. We have often seen him hammer the ball into the back of the net with that right foot of his. This, however, is the most delicate and deftest of touches from Ronaldo.

The match is the same that featured in the fourth spot in this list. Manchester United were 2-0 up at the time and were in a rampant mood. Ryan Giggs seemed to have overcooked a pass in hope of finding Cristiano, however, it helped the five-time Ballon d'Or winner to produce a moment of exquisite genius.

Ronaldo used the power of the ball to just help it on its way, flicking it towards Wayne Rooney who was then through on goal. Of course, Rooney did his part and sealed all three points for United against Villa. As we already know, the game ended 4-0 in United's favour.

While some believe the flick was never meant for Rooney and was intended to reach Patrice Evra instead, we will give the benefit of the doubt to Cristiano. Regardless of who it was meant for, it looks absolutely majestic.

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Edited by Amit Mishra
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