Ronaldo and Neymar: Two giants who share a birthday; here are 5 iconic moments of each

SUMMARY

Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Lionel Messi are often considered the threez best players in the world currently.

By CNBCTV18.comFeb 5, 2022 1:15:58 PM IST (Published)

Two of the greatest football players turn a year older today. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo--regarded as one of the finest ever to grace the world footballing stage-- turns 37 today. Brazil’s Neymar, 30 today, was an electrifying talent in his formative years, and the years since have only cemented that belief--notwithstanding his histrionics at the 2008 FIFA World Cup. Here are 5 iconic moments from the careers of both these footballers.

Barcelona hat-trick |Just a few months after joining FC Barcelona, Neymar proved to be worth every penny the club had spent on him. One of his first iconic performances came just months after joining the club when he scored a hattrick for the Blaugrana in a Champion’s League match against Celtic.

Barcelona treble |Neymar, along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, was largely responsible for taking Barcelona to a treble-winning success in 2014-15. The team that year secured the Copa del Rey, the LaLiga, and the Champions League.

Record-breaking transfer |Despite his success at the club, Neymar soon grew restless and Paris-Saint Germain swoop in to pay the €222 million buyout clause in his contract. This set the record for the world’s most expensive transfer fee, nearly double the previous one.

Iconic goal against Villarreal |In 2015, Neymar hit a goal againstVillarrealduring a LaLiga match. The goal was immediately in the contention for the best goal of the year, a nomination for the FIFA Puskás Award which Neymar has been nominated for five times.

Brazil Olympic Gold |Despite its success in World Cups, Brazil had never secured the Olympic Medal in football. In 2016, on home soil and leading the team himself, Neymar ensured that the Canarinho took home their first gold in the event.

Becoming Real Madrid's all-time top-scorer |The Portuguese superstar has had a stellar two-decade-long career, and his record at Real Madrid shows just that. Ronaldo had an impressive showing of scoring 451 times in 438 competitive appearances with Real Madrid, becoming the club’s highest goal-scorer in 2015-16 LaLiga. He is also the highest-scorer for Portugal as well.

Winning Euro 2016 | Ronaldo, like many other top legends of the game, have often been criticised for their lack of success with their national teams. However, Ronaldo was finally able to silence those critics when he led the Portuguese national team to victory in the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship.

Scoring 100 Champions League goals |While he was a prolific scorer in his first stint with Manchester United, the forward had not made a large impact on Champions League games. However, this quickly changed during his stint with Real Madrid when, after multiple seasons, he became the first to score 100 goals in the competition in 2017. A year later, he also became the first player to win five Champions League titles.

The overhead goal against Juventus |Apart from being the most prolific goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League, he also has the arguably best goal scored in the competition. In 2018, Ronaldo jumped into the air for a beautiful overhead kick to score against Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon.

The Return of the Prodigal Son |Ronaldo had found his first home in Old Trafford with Manchester United under the wings of Sir Alex Ferguson. So when he returned to the club after 12 years, he wasted no time in giving them a goal. In his match against Newcastle in September, he quickly tapped a deflection in. While it wasn’t his most important, impressive or even beautiful goal, it certainly is one of his most special for thousands who adore this man in the Number 7 jersey.