Ronaldo scored a goal so outrageous in his Real prime that it even outdid Thierry Henry

Cristiano Ronaldo was an unstoppable force of nature at Real Madrid.

While the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been out of this world wherever he’s played, there’s no denying that the nine years he spent at the Bernabeu were the most incredible of his club career.

Yes, it was at Manchester United where he burst onto the scene and yes, his time at Juventus is underrated, but nothing can possibly compare to the dizzying prime he reached with Los Blancos.

Besides, you only have to look at the fact that Ronaldo produced an outrageous record of 450 goals in just 438 appearances for the club to see that he was truly in a league of his own.

Scooping four Champions League titles in just five seasons and winning three European Golden Shoe trophies to boot, Ronaldo arguably played better than any male footballer before him.

However, it wasn’t just the number of goals that Ronaldo scored in all-white that catapulted him into the GOAT conversation, but it was so often the manner in which he scored them that impressed too.

After all, this was a time where Ronaldo was more partial to step-overs and knuckle-ball free-kicks than what we saw during his time in Turin and upon moving back to Old Trafford.

As such, reminiscing on the best goals that Ronaldo scored across his Real prime really is a treat because there are 10, 20, 30, if not 40 or more strikes that truly take your breath away.

And one of the most unique and spectacular strikes that Ronaldo produced for the Spanish giants continues to live rent-free in our minds all these years later: the back-heel at Rayo Vallecano.

Cast your minds back to the dizzy days of the 2011/12 season where Jose Mourinho led Real to La Liga glory with a record number of points and goals despite