Yet for all of his 451 goals in all competitions and the silverware he helped amass, Ronaldo's time at the Bernabeu was fraught with moments of high tension leading to Tuesday's announcement that he was joining the Italian champions.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling struck twice as the Premier League champions beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday to go top of the table and heap pressure on title rivals Liverpool.
Virat Kohli is keen to improve as a leader while keeping his emotions in check.
A summary of sports events and persons in the news on Saturday.
A year after he created what has been considered New Zealand's most memorable cricketing moment, all-rounder Grant Elliott has retired from one-day international cricket.
Scotland pipped Kenya to secure their third World Cup appearance on Thursday while United Arab Emirates (UAE) also booked their ticket for next year's marquee 50-over tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
The two players decided to pull out in favour of playing for their provinces in the Plunket Shield, New Zealand's domestic first class championships.
'James Crabtree ignores the emergence of a nexus between business and politics going back to the 1920s and talks of it as a new child of 21st century India,' says Shivanand Kanavi.
Opener Chamu Chibhabha hit 90 as Zimbabwe, aided by bad light, held off a spirited revival from Pakistan to level the One-Day International series with a five-run victory in the second match at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
Senior Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal says his side is good enough to upstage formidable India and lift the Asia Cup trophy when the two teams clash on Sunday. Tamim has fond memories of matches against India and no one can forget the six that he hit off Zaheer Khan during their upset victory during the 2007 50-over World Cup in Port of Spain. "I have forgotten about that match but you guys always make me remember. Yes, we have had some memorable matches against India. I believe if we play to our potential, there is every possibility of beating India. We have defeated them in 50-over format last year and there is no reason we can't repeat that in 20-over format," Tamim told reporters after practice session. Tamim is also confident that he and his teammates can tackle India's new speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who bowls with an unusual action. "We have had discussions in our team meeting about Jasprit Bumrah. We have seen footages of his bowling. I have done my homework on him and let's see how it goes.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
India's opening batsmen have come under fire for poor starts in their last two home series against New Zealand and England but captain Virat Kohli says now is the time to give them support, not show them the door.
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
New Zealand great Martin Crowe will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Images from across Europe and parts of Asia show hot and bothered people dunking their feet in buckets of ice and wading into the sea as sweltering temperatures put some areas on red alert.
Skipper Kane Williamson and fellow opener Martin Guptill forged the highest partnership in Twenty20 Internationals to secure New Zealand a series-levelling 10-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second match in Hamilton on Sunday.
A miffed Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi abandoned a press conference midway in Lahore on Wednesday after he had a verbal spat with a reporter leading to a partial protest by the media demanding an apology from the flamboyant all-rounder.
'India are just a very good team and it is hard to beat them at home'
Presenting the celebs who made headlines this year with their provocative outfits!
Members of the public recount the moment terror struck the heart of London, which left five people dead and at least 40 people injured.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams advanced to the Auckland Classic quarter-finals and kept alive the hopes of an anticipated final between the pair in dramatically contrasting circumstances on Wednesday.
New Zealand have been excluded from the final to determine Oceania's representative at next year's Rio Olympics men's soccer tournament after defender Deklan Wynne was deemed an ineligible player, the Oceania Football Confederation has said.
Sheer gowns. Plunging necklines. Curve-hugging dresses. Long slits. These red carpet divas know how to look super-hot!
The Indian Badminton League will hold its first players' auction in Delhi on July 19. Over 150 shuttlers are expected to go under the hammer for 66 slots in six teams. Each franchisee can have 11 players, including a maximum of four foreign and an under-19 player from their catchment area.
'We did not know we would one day dominate nearly 70 per cent of the market.' 'Today, of 100 diamonds available for trade in Antwerp, 93 are cut and polished in India.' A fascinating excerpt from Shantanu Guha Ray's The Diamond Trail: How India Rose To Global Domination.
South Africa Test team captain Hashim Amla is very close to a landmark that would confirm him as one of the best One-Day International batsmen of all time.
The cricketing life of Martin Crowe, who passed into the ages on March 3.
Liverpool came into Saturday's Champions League final against Real Madrid on a wave of confidence but Zinedine Zidane's side showed exactly why they are the masters of Europe's top club competition in their 3-1 win.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas says the signing of Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois has not affected his desire to remain at the triple European champions as he emphatically ruled out leaving the club in order to be assured of first team football.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Matt Henry shrugged off the disappointment of missing out on selection for next month's World Twenty20 with a hostile spell of pace bowling that helped New Zealand ease to a 159-run win over Australia in the first one-day international on Wednesday.
For New Zealand, the tournament is still a great success. They had never played in a World Cup final before, reaching the semi-finals six times but losing on each occasion, and were unbeaten going into the final.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
'It's really about just reading the situation and trust your gut' 'I don't think anything over 230 has ever been chased down here in an ODI'
