What Records Are in Sight for Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid This Season?
As Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away his fourth goal in the dying minutes of Real Madrid's 5-1 thrashing of Elche at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, it was easy to let your mind wander well ahead to ponder the extent of what might be possible for the Portuguese phenomenon between now and the season's end next May.
Just three days after he'd recorded a hat-trick in his side's 8-2 rout of Deportivo La Coruna, Ronaldo's mid-week quartet—a performance that felt alarmingly routine for such a significant feat—took his season tally to 12 goals in eight appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions this season.
In La Liga alone, he has nine in four.
The pace is simply staggering, made somewhat surprising—though we should have stopped being surprised by his accomplishments long ago—after the forward's injury-interrupted summer.
"Ronaldo does not need a rest. He's in great shape, in good condition, mentally focused," Carlo Ancelotti had insisted on Monday, per the Daily Mail, when asked of his star's health.
Such a position seemed needlessly stubborn initially, yet there's suddenly an overwhelming sense that Ronaldo is in the early stages of a truly extraordinary campaign, that a plethora of records are within his grasp in his sixth season in the Spanish capital.
Of course, the most obvious target for the 29-year-old amid his unrelenting dominance is Raul's record of 323 goals for Los Blancos. Currently sitting on 263 after Tuesday's exploits, Ronaldo is unlikely to overhaul the Spaniard until some point next season.
But even if reaching that mark still remains relatively distant, his pair of outings against Deportivo and Elche have left a plethora of other benchmarks in sight.
Having now scored four goals in a game on three occasions at Real Madrid, the Portuguese is closing in on Alfredo Di Stefano, who completed four such performances at the club, per AS.
"Scoring four goals is very difficult. I'm grateful to my teammate who passed me the ball, allowing me to score," Ronaldo said modestly after the clash with Elche, per Inside Spanish Football. "I've scored four goals in one game on two or three occasions. This comes down to teamwork. What they provide me with and I'm thankful to my teammates for helping me so much."
After slotting home seven in the space of four days, it's not inconceivable that he could draw level with Di Stefano for four-goal games this season.
Tuesday's game also marked Ronaldo's 25th hat-trick for Real Madrid—a simply absurd figure when you consider that it's taken just 254 appearances to reach.
Again, with 28 trios for Real, it's only Di Stefano who is left for the No. 7 to catch, according to Goal's Ben Hayward. Far-fetched at the beginning of the season maybe, but would you now bet against Ronaldo firing a further three or four hat-tricks in the remainder of the campaign?
Should he do that, he'll also break the record held by Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra for the most number of hat-tricks in La Liga (22), given that he's now just one back on 21.
At the continental level, the rampant scorer is almost certain to pass Raul's mark of 71 goals in the Champions League this term, currently sitting just three behind his predecessor on 68 after his goal in the 5-1 demolition of Basel. Adding spice to that quest will be Lionel Messi's presence just a single strike back on 67.
His own record of 17 goals in a single Champions League campaign is realistically within reach too.
Undoubtedly, Ronaldo will also have an eye on the benchmark set by Messi for goals in a single season.
In 2011-12, the Argentinian reached an astronomical number of 50 goals in the Spanish Primera Division, edging past his rival's 46 in the same period.
With nine already to his name in four games in 2014-15, Ronaldo needs 42 goals to topple Messi's mark and still has 33 league games available in which to do so.
Interestingly, Real Madrid's maligned summer transfer activity—while doing little for team balance—is likely to benefit Ronaldo's record-breaking pursuits.
With Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and Isco as Ancelotti's primary midfield options, the European champions have no choice but to play in a high-octane manner, pouring forward in search of goals. Bunches of them, in fact.
Not built for rugged or scrappy contests, Los Blancos are embarking on a season of shootouts that could propel Ronaldo to his most prolific campaign yet.
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