Football
Cristiano Ronaldo’s UCL Wins: Total UEFA Champions League Titles
Cristiano Ronaldo has won every major European club competition and individual awards. These are Ronaldo’s UEFA Champions League titles.
Image Credits: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo won five UEFA Champions League (UCL) titles in his career. He was the first player to win five. The Portuguese is the highest-scorer in football history, and one of the best forwards to play the game. Ronaldo won the world’s most prestigious cup competition with two clubs.
He won one Champions League with Manchester United and four titles with Real Madrid. Ronaldo no longer plays in Europe. In 2023, he moved to Saudi Arabia for a King’s ransom. He plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League (SPL). SportsBoom brings you the story of Ronaldo’s five Champions League titles.
First UEFA Champions League Title: 2007/08
Manchester United vs Chelsea | 1 Goal, 1 Missed Shootout Penalty
“I missed my penalty, and it felt like the worst day of my life. Now it's the happiest day of my life.” Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo won his first UEFA Champions League title with Manchester United in 2007/08. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a header, but Frank Lampard levelled for Chelsea before halftime. The Moscow final went to extra time but was goalless as the teams went to penalties.
The penalty shootout went to sudden death after Ronaldo and John Terry missed their penalties. Nicolas Anelka could not, however, hold his nerve. The Frenchman missed the fourteenth and deciding penalty to hand United their third European Cup, and second under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo did not initially join his teammates as they raced to celebrate with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Instead, he lay on his back at the centre circle and cried his eyes out, for which he was roundly criticised. Van der Sar was awarded the official ‘Man of the Match’ award, but Ronaldo was voted ‘Fans’ Man of the Match’ on UEFA’s official website.
The Portuguese finished as the tournament’s top scorer (8 goals), his first of seven tournaments. Ronaldo was subsequently named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. He won the 2008 Ballon d'Or and 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming United’s first Golden Ball winner since George Best in 1968. He was also the first English Premier League footballer to be named FIFA World Player of the Year.
Image Credits: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
Second UEFA Champions League Title: 2013/14
Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid | La Décima | 1 Goal (Extra Time Penalty)
“I never thought that I would bring this trophy back home on three occasions. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time.”
In 2009, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for a then-world-record fee of £80 million. It took several years before he won his first UEFA Champions League with Madrid. In the 2013/14 UCL final, Real Madrid faced arch-rivals Atlético Madrid in El Derbi Madrileño in Lisbon.
Los Blancos won 4-1 after extra time in a cagey Spanish derby. Diego Godín opened the scoring for LosColchoneros in the first half. Atlético looked to have won the game, but in the dying seconds, Sergio Ramos equalised from a corner to send the game into extra time. Ramos’s goal sucked the life out of Diego Simeone’s tired team.
Gareth Bale and Marcelo scored within minutes of the first and second half of extra time to kill the game. Ronaldo added a stoppage-time penalty to ice the cake. Madrid claimed their tenth Champions League/European Cup title, known by players, supporters, and the Spanish media as La Décima.
For the third time in his career, Ronaldo was the season’s top scorer (17 goals). He was named UEFA ‘Best Player in Europe’ and ‘Best Player in La Liga’ before claiming his third Ballon d’Or.
Top 5 Ballon d’Or Winners
| Rank | Player | Country | Ballon d’Or Awards | Second Place |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 5 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Michel Platini | France | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Marco van Baston | Netherlands | 3 | 0 |
*These are the only players with three or more Ballon d’or wins
Fourth UEFA Champions League Title: 2016/17
[H3] Juventus vs Real Madrid | 2 Goals | Man of the Match
Real Madrid won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles when they defeated Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff. Madrid was the first team to successfully defend their title since the great AC Milan team in 1990. Los Reyes de Europa reached a record 15th UCL final, and third final in four years.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but Mario Mandžukić equalised seven minutes later. Madrid regained the lead with a deflected Casemiro strike after the hour mark. Ronaldo made it 3-1 minutes later. Marco Asensio made it a rout in the 90th minute as Los Blancos were crowned European champions for the twelfth time.
“People don't have words to criticise, because the numbers don't lie.”
For the sixth time in his career, Ronaldo was the season’s top scorer. He netted 12 goals. Ten strikes came from the quarter-finals onwards to enhance his BMT. It was his best-ever season for club and country. He added the 2016 UEFA European Championship with Portugal. To cap off a season for the ages.
He was named FIFA’s ‘Best Men’s Player of the Year’ for the second time, and UEFA’s ‘Best Men’s Player in Europe’ for the third time. Ronaldo picked up his fifth Ballon d’Or to complete a historic treble of individual European and world football awards.
Top 10 Ballon d’Or Nominations & Wins
| Rank | Player | Country | Ballon d’Or Nominations | Ballon d’Or Best Finish |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 18 | 5 Wins |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 16 | 8 Wins |
| 3 | Paolo Maldini | Italy | 13 | 3rd (Twice) |
| =4 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | 12 | 3 Wins |
| =4 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany | 12 | 2 Wins |
| =4 | Karim Benzema | France | 12 | 1 Win |
| =7 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Sweden | 11 | 4th |
| =7 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | 11 | 2nd |
| =10 | Neymar | Brazil | 9 | 3rd (Twice) |
| =10 | Thierry Henry | France | 9 | 2nd |
| =10 | Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | 9 | 5th |
Fourth UEFA Champions League Title: 2016/17
[H3] Juventus vs Real Madrid | 2 Goals | Man of the Match
Real Madrid won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles when they defeated Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff. Madrid was the first team to successfully defend their title since the great AC Milan team in 1990. Los Reyes de Europa reached a record 15th UCL final, and third final in four years.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but Mario Mandžukić equalised seven minutes later. Madrid regained the lead with a deflected Casemiro strike after the hour mark. Ronaldo made it 3-1 minutes later. Marco Asensio made it a rout in the 90th minute as Los Blancos were crowned European champions for the twelfth time.
“People don't have words to criticise, because the numbers don't lie.”
For the sixth time in his career, Ronaldo was the season’s top scorer. He netted 12 goals. Ten strikes came from the quarter-finals onwards to enhance his BMT. It was his best-ever season for club and country. He added the 2016 UEFA European Championship with Portugal. To cap off a season for the ages.
He was named FIFA’s ‘Best Men’s Player of the Year’ for the second time, and UEFA’s ‘Best Men’s Player in Europe’ for the third time. Ronaldo picked up his fifth Ballon d’Or to complete a historic treble of individual European and world football awards.
Image Credits: Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Fifth UEFA Champions League Title: 2017/18
[H3] Real Madrid vs Liverpool | Three in a Row | No Goals
“The Champions League should change and be called the CR7 Champions League. I have won five and I am the [top] goal scorer again.”
Real Madrid made it a hat-trick of UEFA Champions League titles when they beat Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 Kyiv final. It is the only European final that Cristiano Ronaldo did not score. He was, however, the first player to win five UCL titles. It was a game Liverpool dominated until Sergio Ramos’s cynical foul on Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian winger left the field in tears with a broken collarbone. From then on, Madrid took over. A scoreless first half erupted into life. Six minutes after the break, Karim Benzema struck for the Spanish giants after Loris Karius rolled the ball into his path. Sadio Mané equalised four minutes later for the English club.
Enter Gareth Bale, the man for the big occasions. Two minutes after entering the game, Bale scored the most outrageous bicycle kick to put the men in white 2-1 up. Karius should never have been beaten, but the football Gods were smiling on Zinedine Zidane’s side. Twenty minutes later, Bale bagged his brace.
Another howler by Karius killed Liverpool’s hopes of another miracle comeback. The Welshman hit a 40-yard swerving strike that went through the hands of the embarrassed goalkeeper to seal the deal for Los Merengues. Ronaldo had a chance to make it 4-1, but a pitch invader stopped play. For the seventh time, Ronaldo was the UCL's highest scorer (15 goals).
There was no repeat of individual awards from the previous three seasons. CR7 did, however, win the ‘Portuguese Sportsman of the Year’ award for an unprecedented seventh time. Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018. He was at the Italian club for three years, before rejoining Manchester United in 2021. In 2023, he moved to Al Nassr. He top-scored in 2024, scoring 48 goals for club and country. He never won another Champions League.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.