Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick record, penalty record and goalscoring stats | OneFootball

The Portuguese forward has scored over 600 goals for club and country in his career, but how accurate is he from free kicks and penalties?

One of the greatest goalscorers of all-time, Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player in history to win four European Golden Shoes and holds the records for most goals scored in both the Champions League and the European Championship.

With over 600 goals to his name, Ronaldo’s prowess both inside and outside the penalty area also sees him handed penalty and free-kick responsibilities for both club and country with 78 set-piece goals to his name for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo’s free-kick record

Ronaldo’s unique free taking stance is familiar to football fans the world over, and has even been included in FIFA 18 after the Real Madrid forward was made the cover star for the game. It stems back to his time at Manchester United, where he was also a prolific free-kick taker, with his 100th goal for the club coming from a dead ball situation in a 5-0 win over Stoke City where Ronaldo scored two free kicks. In fact, his final ever goal for United before his £80 million transfer to Real Madrid was a free kick against local rivals Manchester City.

Ronaldo’s first Champions League goals for Madrid were both free kicks, coming against Zurich after an impressive run of goals in the league where he scored in each of his first four games. The 32-year-old has scored a free kick in each of his first eight seasons at Santiago Bernabéu, with a season high of four in both the 2010/11 and 2012/13 La Liga campaigns. However, in the past two seasons, his return has been poorer scoring just one free kick in the league in both 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Despite the number of goals from free kicks, the forward is often criticised for being wasteful from set pieces. But just how accurate has Ronaldo been from free kicks for Real Madrid?

Ronaldo’s penalty record

One of the criticisms often incorrectly levelled at Ronaldo is the fact so many of his goals are penalties, earning him the derisory nickname ‘Penaldo.’ However, for both Real Madrid and Portugal, penalties are just a small percentage of his overall goalscoring tally. The superstar is capable of scoring from anywhere with both his left and right foot as well as his head, which is why he has over 500 club goals and over 75 for his country.

The reason Ronaldo is handed penalty taking duties is because he is lethal from the spot. In both 2010/11 and 2013/14, he scored all of his penalties in La Liga, and in 2011/12, had an impressive return of 12 from 13 attempts. A perfectionist, who continues to try to improve his game, Ronaldo rarely makes the same mistake twice. Only two goalkeepers have seen Ronaldo miss twice against them – former Málaga shotstopper Carlos Kameni and ex-Valencia keeper Diego Alves.

How accurate is Ronaldo at penalties and how many penalties has he scored?

What percentage of Ronaldo’s goals are penalties?

Ronaldo’s goalscoring record

When Ronaldo moved to Manchester United from Sporting CP in 2003, he became the most expensive teenager in British football. Alex Ferguson paid over £12m for his signature despite the fact he had just scored three league goals in Portugal. He opened his account for United with a free kick before going on to score three more goals in his first season at Old Trafford. However, it was not until 2006/07 that he really made a breakthrough, netting 17 times in the league and then 31 the following season.

Ronaldo finished his stay at Manchester United with 84 league goals, 16 European goals and 118 in all competitions. At Madrid, he has been even better. In four of his eight full La Liga seasons so far, he has finished with a better goals than appearances record – the highpoint of which was 2014/15 where he scored an amazing 48 times in 35 league games.

How many goals has Ronaldo scored in his career?

Reporting by Goal.com