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Cristiano Ronaldo struck 450 times in his 438 appearances for the Los Blancos across all competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo congratulated Real Madrid on their 123rd anniversary (Picture credit: X @Cristiano)
Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo penned a heartfelt note for Real Madrid on its 123rd birth anniversary. He spent nearly nine years in the Spanish capital. He moved to Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 on a record £80-million deal and departed as the club’s leading goal-scorer in 2018.
Ronaldo struck 450 times in his 438 appearances for the Los Blancos across all competitions. During his time in Madrid, he lifted as many as 17 trophies, including four Champions League titles. With his dominant performance, the Portuguese icon also secured four Ballond’Ors.
On March 6, when Real Madrid completed 123 years of its journey, Ronaldo sent a beautiful message to his former club. Accompanying the post was a glimpse of the 2016 Champions League win.
Ronaldo, donning the Real Madrid shirt, was captured proudly lifting the trophy after beating derby rivals Atletico Madrid in the summit showdown in Milan. Sharing the picture on X (formerly Twitter), the legendary forward wrote, “123 years of Real Madrid; Happy birthday to the entire Real Madrid family and Hala Madrid.”
After leaving Real Madrid, Ronaldo shifted his base to the Italian club, Juventus. The 40-year-old later revealed the discussion between him and Florentino Perez at the time of his departure.
“It exhausted me because Perez had agreed that I would leave, but then he did not treat me well, and I could not back down because I gave Juventus my word, and Perez wanted to come back, it was a long story, “Ronaldo said, as quoted by Sports Illustrated.
“When I was at Real Madrid, I remember that when I missed a chance or a penalty, I would get angry with myself. I didn’t allow myself to make mistakes. I would go to bed without eating dinner and talk to myself, wondering why I shot to the right or why not to the left,” Ronaldo added.
Since its establishment in 1902, Real Madrid has achieved tremendous success, emerging as one of the best clubs in European football. They remain the most successful team in Champions League history with 15 titles. Real Madrid have also become the La Ligachampions,36 times while winning 20 Copa del Rey titles, six UEFA Super Cups and five FIFA Club World Cups.
