Cristiano Ronaldo’s Top Five Teammates in His Entire Career

In a career spanning over 1000 matches, Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved enough milestones to go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time. From the very beginning of his career, he was lucky enough the play alongside some of the best of the game. This did not change as he went on to represent big names such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus later in his career.

Just how he was lucky to be in the same team as some of the greats, his teammates were also fortunate to have a scoring machine like Cristiano on their side. This synchrony helped the teams reach new heights and set new landmarks for the future. Here are the top five teammates of Ronaldo who contributed to more than just winning silverware along with him –

#5 Raul:

After securing a record-breaking move from Manchester United to Real Madrid, he wasn’t handed in the number 7 shirt of Madrid out of respect for the then club captain Raul. The duo spent only one season together but their chemistry on the pitch was visible in the naked eyes.

When Raul left the club in 2010, he trusted Ronaldo with the responsibilities of the number 7 shirt and Ronaldo fulfilled them better than anyone expected. He went on to break Raul’s record for top scorer in Real Madrid’s history in the 2015/16 season. They always had a ton of respect for each other. Raul helped Cristiano to settle down in a new country, at a new club and Ronaldo even later called Raul an “example as a player”.

#4 Gareth Bale:

Bale’s transfer to Madrid broke the previous transfer record set by Ronaldo’s move to Real back in 2009. But this did not stop these two highly ambitious individuals from getting along from the beginning. They spent five seasons together and formed a formidable attacking partnership.

They helped Madrid win four UEFA Champions League titles in their five years together. Even though Bale’s playing time in the later periods was quite limited, whenever he came off the bench, he rarely failed to make an impact as Madrid established their utter dominance over the world with these two at the heart of their attack.

#3 Luis Figo:

If there is one teammate Ronaldo was lucky enough to play with, he has to be Luis Figo. An experienced veteran like Figo helped a young Cristiano massively with his advice and tips. Their combination helped Portugal reach the semi-finals of Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006.

When Figo retired from his international career in 2006, he passed down the iconic number 7 jersey to Cristiano and the latter went to break and set records wearing it. To date, Figo is undoubtedly the best mentor Ronaldo has ever had apart from Sir Alex Ferguson.

#2 Wayne Rooney:

Cristiano the number 7 and Wayne the number 10 of Manchester United were one of the most feared strike partnerships in the Premier League in the early 2000s. Their understanding was quite natural and beautiful to watch but nearly impossible to defend at times.

They shared over 200 goals in between each other during their time at United. Their dynamism helped the Red Devils win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one UEFA Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup.

#1 Karim Benzema:

After arriving in the same transfer window as Cristiano, Benzema initially struggled to become Real Madrid’s first-choice center-forward due to competition from Gonzalo Higuain. But eventually, it all turned out well as Real went on to build their dynasty in the mid-2010s with Ronaldo and Karim at the heart of their attack.

They made 342 appearances together and arguably, on the pitch, no one understood Ronaldo better than the Frenchman. Benzema sacrificed a lot to let Ronaldo shine and consciously took the backseat. In the end, it all worked out for the best.