SUMMARY
- Cristiano Ronaldo, during his early days at Manchester United, occasionally played as a midfielder.
- Ronaldo's feat of winning the Golden Boot while playing as a midfielder in the Premier League remains unparalleled.
Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest soccer players ever to embrace the field. The veteran number seven has so many different aspects to his game that every time he comes on the pitch, he surprises his followers with his spectacular performances.
For a while in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo played as a midfielder for the Premier League club Manchester United. The Portugal legend mostly played in the position during his early days at the English club. However, even playing behind most of the club’s attackers, CR7 managed to emerge as the top goal scorer in the 2007-2008 Barclays Premier League campaign.
He netted a magnificent sum of 31 goals for United in that particular campaign. Ronaldo emerged as the Golden Boot winner for scoring the most goals in that Premier League season. To this date, as per reports, he remains the only midfielder to win the Golden Boot in the top flight of England’s soccer.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s stint as a midfielder
CR7’s stint as a midfielder was mostly attributed to him playing as a winger rather than playing centrally as a main midfielder. His presence in the middle of the park for United had more to do with him progressing forward down the open spaces on the sides by picking the ball up.
On several occasions, the player from Portugal also drifted inside to claim back possession or help other teammates around him. Similarly, sometimes he would also track back and do his defensive duties. However, the major focus from his side was on scoring and assisting goals and aiding his team’s attacking threat.
Number of Golden boots Cristiano Ronaldo has won in his career so far
Cristiano Ronaldo finished the year 2023 as the top-scorer in the soccer world netting a tally of 54 goals. Despite being 38 years old, the veteran forward is still quite consistent at the highest level when it comes to scoring goals. CR7’s spectacular habit of getting himself on the scoresheet is still quite regular these days.
The top scorer of 2023 with 54 goals: 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo 🍷🐐 pic.twitter.com/z5nyCVEgja
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 30, 2023
In his soccer career so far, CR7 has bagged a total of four golden boots. He is just behind close rival and Argentina forward Lionel Messi. Leo has so far accounted for six golden boots in his career. Both of them stand among the top goal-scorers in the soccer hierarchy.
The fans of his current Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Portugal national team would hope that CR7 continues to deliver bright performances at the highest level.