Cristiano Ronaldo: The 10 Best Moments of His Career

We give Cristiano Ronaldo a lot of guff around here. Now it's time to give him his due.

Still only 26, Cristiano Ronaldo has won league titles, the Champions League and domestic cups wherever he's played. He also won the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or in 2008.

In other words, he's truly a superstar—among the best players of his generation.

In recognition of that, we've compiled his 10 best moments so far in this slideshow.

What did we leave out? Let us know in the comments.

10. First Hat Trick with Real Madrid

The date was May 5, 2010. Cristiano scored three times for Real Madrid against Mallorca.

The goals came in the 26th, 58th and 73rd minutes.

Enjoy.

9. Four Goals Against Racing Santander

Hat trick? Ha, that's child's play.

How about four goals?

That's what Cristiano Ronaldo did against Racing Santander on Oct. 23, 2010.

Sit back and marvel.

8. First Premiership Title (2006-07)

Chelsea had won the title two straight years, with Manchester United posting an unthinkable third-place finish in 2004-05.

The Red Devils wrestled back the Premiership trophy from Chelsea in 2006-07, finishing six points clear with a record of 28 victories, five draws and five defeats.

Cristiano Ronaldo did his part, scoring 17 league goals in 34 appearances.

7. Back-to-Back PFA and FWA Awards

Cristiano Ronaldo became a superstar around the time he swept the English player of the year awards in back-to-back years.

He was named player of the year by the writers and players for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. For the 2006-07 season, he was also the young player of the year according to the PFA.

At the end of the 2007-08 season, he also won some bigger trophies. More on that later.

6. Named Porgual Captain (2008)

Cristiano Ronaldo earned the captain's armband with the Portuguese national team permanently in July 2008 at the age of just 23.

It's kind of hard to find video of his manager actually giving him the armband, so we included a video of his skills while playing for Portugal.

5. Game-Winner in Copa Del Rey Final

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the match-winning goal, a header, in the 2011 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.

The goal, which came in the 103rd minute, gave Real Madrid their first Copa del Rey title in 17 years.

4. Introduction to Real Madrid

On July 8, 2010, in America, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh received heavy criticism for participating in an extravagant ceremony.

They probably got the idea from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Two days before that, Cristiano Ronaldo was presented to his new fans—80,000 of them—after securing a move from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

The move cost Real Madrid around £80 million ($132 million). His new six-year contract at £12 million per year made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time.

At the ceremony, Cristiano Ronaldo received the famed No. 9 jersey from Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano.

3. 40-Yard Screamer Against Porto in Champions League

You know which one we're talking about.

The date was March 11, 2009. Manchester United was playing Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored an amazing goal from 40 yards out. He later called it "the best goal I've ever scored."

And it later won the inaugural FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the 2008-09 season.

2. Winning the Champions League

In European club football, there's no higher team honor than winning the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo did it with Manchester United in 2008 after a dramatic penalty shootout against Chelsea in Moscow.

1. FIFA World Player of the Year

That same season, Cristiano Ronaldo earned the highest individual honor in the sport, the FIFA World Player of the Year.

He beat out Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo also won the Ballon d'Or that season.