By Toby Prince
Real Madrid held a special ceremony to honour Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday after he became the club’s all-time leading scorer.
The club presented Ronaldo with a custom-made trophy in a ceremony attended by his family and teammates at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After a long video showing Ronaldo’s official presentation in 2009 and many of his greatest feats and important goals, including some against rival Barcelona, club president Florentino Perez gave a speech praising the Portugal forward.
“It’s a very emotional day for all Real Madrid fans,” Perez said. “One of our own has achieved something that was considered almost impossible to achieve. Only through his talent, his hard work and his determination was this possible.”
Ronaldo in reply apologised for being “a bit of a bastard” to the media, while thanking his teammates, coaches, family and friends for helping him achieve this feat.
“I am very happy, thanks to my teammates because without them this would never be possible,” Ronaldo said. “Also thanks to all my coaches, (Manuel) Pellegrini, (Jose) Mourinho, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Rafael) Benitez. They have always helped me, the equipment managers, the physios
“I also thank the media, because I know that lately I’ve been a little bastard with them, but it’s my way of being.
“And my friends, Jorge Mendes and my mother. And the president for this event, Hala Madrid!.”
Ronaldo scored his 323rd and 324th goals Wednesday in Madrid’s 2-0 win over Malmo in a Champions League game in Sweden, matching and surpassing the mark previously held by Raul Gonzalez.
The Portuguese skipper also surpassed the 500 mark for career goals in the game against Malmo, reaching 501.
