#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

 #2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - five-time Ballon d'Or winner

Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer the game has ever seen.

Nearly 37, Cristiano Ronaldo's longevity is unlike anything we've seen in football, and is only matched by his eternal rival Lionel Messi (more on him later). Love him or hate him, the Portuguese superstar's statistical superiority cannot be denied. CR7 is the greatest goalscorer in the game's history, and the terrifying bit is that he's not finished yet.
Since making his debut for Manchester United in 2003 as an 18-year-old, Ronaldo has performed at the highest level for almost two decades. In that span, he has rewritten virtually every goalscoring record, and has won every individual accolade in his grasp.

By the time he hangs up his boots, Ronaldo may very well be considered Real Madrid's greatest player, and why not? His Los Blancos record of 450 goals and 132 assists in 438 appearances is beyond belief, and is the best in club history by a country mile.

His Manchester United record is also exceptional. That is even more impressive when one considers that the Premier League was arguably the best domestic top-flight league in the game in the 2000s. Even his 'relatively disappointing' spell at Juventus yielded a staggering 101 goals in 134 games.

The Portuguese superstar is the best player in the history of the Champions League, which is European club football's biggest and toughest competition. He leads all players with 141 goals, and has registered the most assists in the tournament as well (42). If that isn't enough, Ronaldo has won the competition a record five times, including a stunning hat-trick of titles between 2016 and 2018.
With Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo has become the greatest goalscorer in men's international football history. His record of 115 goals with the national team is unparalleled. He captained them to their first major trophy in the country's history at Euro 2016, netting three crucial strikes.
Ronaldo is already football's all-time leading scorer, with 799 goals in official competitive fixtures for club and country. Listing out his individual accolades is anything but short and simple.

He has five Ballon d'Or, three FIFA World Player of the Year and three UEFA Player of the Year awards. The forward has also won three Pichichi trophies. He also held the Premier League record for most goals in a season before it was broken by Mohamed Salah.

Ronaldo is a four-time European Golden Boot winner. He is the only player apart from Zinedine Zidane to be named the Player of the Year in three of Europe's top five leagues.

Most importantly, Ronaldo is the epitome of hard work and dedication. While not the most naturally gifted player of all time, the Portuguese superstar developed into arguably the greatest athlete in the game. The once skinny teenager from Madeira showed that with the right attitude and work ethic, anything is possible.

Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's greatest rival, had high praise for the Portuguese superstar, saying:

“(Ronaldo) is always there scoring goals in all the games and taking part in his club and national side. He has been doing that for many years and whether he is at his peak or a bit below, it makes no difference.”