Cristiano Ronaldo: Rio Ferdinand's analysis of Puskas-winning goal v Porto

Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer in football history.

The Portuguese superstar has found the back of the net an astonishing 806 times for club and country.

Ronaldo’s recent hat-trick for Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur saw him move ahead of Josef Bican as football’s leading scorer.

Due to the fact that he’s beaten an opposing goalkeeper over 800 times, the 37-year-old possesses a collection of wonder-goals that can rival anyone.

The former Real Madrid forward has scored some absolute corkers down the years, including knuckle-ball free-kicks, bicycle-kicks and gravity-defying headers.

But when the topic of Ronaldo’s greatest ever goal comes up in discussion, there’s nearly always one clear winner.

It is, of course, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s incredible long-range strike against FC Porto in the Champions League.

On April 15th, 2009, Ronaldo stunned the world by firing the ball into the top corner from around 45 yards out at the Estadio do Dragao.

The power he generated was obscene and there’s no goalkeeper – past or present – who would have saved the shot.

Back in February 2021, Ronaldo’s former United teammate Rio Ferdinand broke down the wonder-strike in the build-up to Juventus‘ match against Porto.

Ferdinand had the best view possible of the goal, as he was stood right behind Ronaldo when he took struck the ball.

Check out the BT Sport pundit’s marvellous analysis here…

If Ronaldo had listened to Ferdinand, he’d have abandoned taking on the shot and ultimately robbed us of a masterpiece.

Thankfully, ‘CR7’ took the risk and we’re so glad he did. The goal deservedly won the inaugural FIFA Puskas Award in 2009.

After the game against Porto, Ronaldo stated the the long-range effort was indeed