Best Player in Europe final three: Cristiano Ronaldo
sexta-feira, 5 de agosto de 2016
Sumário do artigo
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named one of the final three nominees for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. UEFA.com looks back at a sensational 2015/16 for the Real Madrid and Portugal man.
Conteúdo media do artigo
Corpo do artigo
Another spectacular campaign for Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished as UEFA Champions League top scorer for the fourth season running and the fifth time overall with 16 goals as Real Madrid picked up the European Cup for an 11th time.
He possibly even eclipsed those exploits by spearheading Portugal's unlikely UEFA EURO 2016 success, despite dramatically limping out of the Saint-Denis final midway through the first half. While in France, Ronaldo became joint all-time leading marksman in EURO final tournaments, set a new record for most EURO finals appearances and overtook Luís Figo as Portugal's most-capped player. Not bad at all.
Honours: UEFA Champions League, UEFA EURO 2016
Domestic league
Appearances: 36
Goals: 35
Assists: 11
UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 12
Goals: 16
Assists: 4
UEFA EURO 2016
Appearances: 7
Goals: 3
Assists: 3
Joe Walker, UEFA.com's Real Madrid and Portugal team reporter for 2015/16
My Ronaldo highlights
- His hat-trick against Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg helped Real Madrid complete a famous European comeback.
- That performance against Hungary at UEFA EURO 2016. Portugal were on the ropes and staring group stage elimination in the face – until their skipper got them out of jail. An impish back-heeled flick made it 2-2, Ronaldo becoming the first man to score in four EURO tournaments, then his brilliant header helped seal Portugal's last-16 place.
- The sheer look of delight on his face as Portugal triumphed at UEFA EURO 2016. While he left the field in tears after sustaining a knee injury, he backed his team-mates all the way and helped cajole them from the sidelines alongside coach Fernando Santos.
Why he should win it
Ronaldo's consistency is almost unparalleled. A big-game player, he dragged club and country to glory last term with match-winning displays in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA EURO 2016. Few players have won as much as the No7 and after finally gaining that elusive major honour with Portugal, his trophy cabinet is complete. He deserves this gong after all he achieved over the past 12 months.