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Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping to sign out of the Euros on a high and make a claim for the 2024 Ballon d'Or award
Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo is already seen as one of the greatest players to grace the European Championships after setting numerous competition records and clinching the title in 2016.
With another edition of the Euros on the horizon, Ronaldo can deepen his legacy in the competition with three more milestones set to fall at the feet of the Al Nassr star.
Most European Championships played and scored in
Ronaldo currently holds the record for the most tournaments played after playing in five editions of the Euros, but he could extend his record with another appearance in Germany.
The Portugal captain is also level on Euros call-ups with former Real Madrid teammates, and after making A Selecao das Quinas team for Euro 2024, will surpass the ex-Spain man as the player to have been called up the most times in the competition’s history.
Having scored in all five of his Euros appearances so far, Ronaldo can break another of his records with a goal at Euro 2024 which would mean he would have scored in six consecutive European Championships final tournaments, more than any other player.
Most goals in European Championships finals
Ronaldo’s longevity at the top has also seen him set the record for the most goals in European Championships history with 14 strikes in five final tournaments so far for the Portugal star.
With another goal in Germany, Ronaldo will eclipse his previously set mark, extending his lead as the greatest marksman in Euros history.
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Given his superb form with Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League with 35 goals in 31 league matches, it would be difficult to bet against Ronaldo finding the back of the net in Germany.
Oldest player to score at the Euros
The current record for the oldest goalscorer in Euros final history currently sits with Austria’s Ivica Vastic, who found the net with an injury-time penalty against Poland at Euro 2008.
The ex-Sturm Graz and LASK forward wrote his name into Austrian history, scoring the country’s first-ever goal at a European Championship and also becoming the oldest player to score at a Euros final aged 38 years, 257 days.
Ronaldo has a chance to move past Vlastic in Euro 2024 as he will be 39 years 130 days on the opening day of the tournament and will become the record-holder with a goal in any of Portugal’s matches.
Oldest outfield Player at the Euros
Before getting the chance to break the record for the oldest goalscorer in Euros history, Ronaldo will need to get on the pitch for Portugal during the tournament, and in doing so, he will break another European record.
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An appearance at his current age would make Ronaldo the oldest outfield player to play at the Euros as he will outrank German legend Lothar Matthäus, who was 39 years and 91 days when he made his final appearance for Die Mannschaft against Portugal in 2000.
However, Ronaldo also faces competition from teammate Pepe, who is two years older than he is and would also be eyeing the milestone.
Most appearances in the team of the tournament
Ronaldo and Pepe will also be going head-to-head for another milestone as both players could make Euros history by becoming the first players to appear in four Teams of the Tournament squads at the end of the campaign.
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Pepe was included in the TOTT in consecutive editions between 2008 and 2016, while Ronaldo earned a place in the 2004, 2012, and 2016 squads, but the Portugal stars also share this honour with Italy’s Paulo Maldini and France’s Laurent Blanc who have also appeared three times.
Should one or both of Ronaldo and Pepe find their way into the TOTT again, they will find themselves with a historic European Championship milestone.
Oldest hat-trick in Euros history
Ronaldo could take his goalscoring exploits to new heights at Euro 2024 by grabbing a tournament hat-trick, which will be the first of his European Championships career.
After waiting 20 years since making his tournament debut, Ronaldo could sign out of what is expected to be his final appearance at the tournament with a signature hat-trick for Portugal.
If the Portugal star is able to net his first treble in a Euros final tournament, he will become the oldest player to do so in the competition’s history, outdoing French legend Michel Platini, who scored a hat-trick during his remarkable 1984 run to the title with Les Bleus.
Most appearances in a Euros final
Having tasted defeat and victory in the European Championships finals in 2004 and 2016 respectively, Ronaldo and Portugal will be hoping for another appearance in the title-decider in this year’s edition in Germany.
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Win or lose, Ronaldo will make Euros history if he gets to play in the match, becoming the player with the outright most appearances in the tournament’s final match.
He current;y shares the record with 23 other players, who have also played in two Euros finals but could move ahead of the competition with another final appearance which will also make him the oldest player to appear in the showpiece match, beating Germany’s Jens Lehman who lost to Spain in the 2008 final aged 38 years, 232 days.
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