The most-liked sports figure on Facebook surpassed a significant milestone Tuesday, as Real Madrid and Portugal soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped 100 million likes.
The most-liked sports figure on Facebook surpassed a significant milestone Tuesday, as Real Madrid and Portugal soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo topped 100 million likes.
Ronaldo marked the occasion by sharing a video (embedded below) on his page, thanking his fans, and saying:
I’m so honored to have reached 100 million likes on Facebook. It’s amazing to achieve this incredible milestone and connecting with all the fans around the world. Their outstanding support inspires me and I thank them all.
Facebook head of sport and entertainment partnerships, Europe, Middle East and Africa Glenn Miller shared the following examples of how Ronaldo has connected with his fans in a post on the Facebook Media blog:
This summer, he posted a photo celebrating Children’s Day with his son. The photo has more than 3.4 million likes, and it is his most liked post ever.
Through the years, Ronaldo has often shared his reactions to winning awards, including theFIFA Balon D’or in January 2014 and the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in August 2014.
When in Brazil for the World Cup, he updated fans on his travels and reflected on his team’s matches using Facebook. His posts ranged from posing with a watermelon carved with his likeness to photos with the Portuguese team.
He has also shared some special moments with Irina Shayk, such as a dinner out on Oct. 6 andvacationing together last summer.
And Miller shared the infographic below, illustrating that Ronaldo’s Facebook fans could:
- Fill 1,170 Bernabéu Stadiums (where Real Madrid plays).
- Create more than 9 million lineups and face each other in over 4.5 million football matches.
- Wrap around the world four times if they all joined hands.
- Fill Portugal 10 times over.
The very cool graphic, published in the British newspaper Telegraph, shows how Ronaldo has amassed a total of 394 goals in 581 games during his professional career; that’s a 68 percent success rate. If you have ever wondered, what part of his body Cristiano uses more often to score or in what minute of a game he is more lethal, this infographic breaks down all of that for you.
One of the most important things to know about Ronaldo’s scoring capabilities is that he doesn’t give up and is more lethal at the end of a match, when he has scored 84 times between the 76th and 90th minutes of a match. Cristiano is very effective during regular play, with 291 goals as opposed to 37 from free-kicks and 66 in the penalty box.
Not surprisingly, Ronaldo’s most successful scoring has come in La Liga, where he has put the football in the net 192 times. The Premier League ranks second, with 84 goals scored, while the Champions League comes in third with 69 goals.
The Liverpool defenders should try to block Cristiano from kicking with his right foot which has netted him 269 total career goals. But no matter what happens against The Reds, their basic concern is how to stop the Portuguese superstar, who, at this moment, seems to be in the best physical shape of his life and has been tearing down the Spanish league during the first few weeks of the regular season.
So far, Ronaldo scored 19 goals in 12 games, and he broke another La Liga record this past weekend when he scored twice against Levante for 15 goals in seven league games. Additionally, Cristiano is the only player in history who has scored in nine consecutive away games during Champions League competition for a total of 54 goals. What Ronaldo will do against Liverpool remains to be seen, but he could become the best UCL scorer ever if he manages to score two goals.
