vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Michael Jordan
Many of Jordan 's contemporaries have said that Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time . In 1999 , an ESPN survey of journalists , athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century , above such luminaries as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali . Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press 's December 1999 list of 20th century athletes . In addition , the Associated Press voted him the greatest basketball player of the 20th century . Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times . In the September 1996 issue of Sport , which was the publication 's 50th - anniversary issue , Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years .
Ballon d'Or
Player 1st 2nd 3rd Lionel Messi 5 ( 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2015 ) 5 ( 2008 , 2013 , 2014 , 2016 , 2017 ) 1 ( 2007 ) Cristiano Ronaldo 5 ( 2008 , 2013 , 2014 , 2016 , 2017 ) 5 ( 2007 , 2009 , 2011 , 2012 , 2015 ) -- Michel Platini 3 ( 1983 , 1984 , 1985 ) -- 2 ( 1977 , 1980 ) Johan Cruyff 3 ( 1971 , 1973 , 1974 ) -- 1 ( 1975 ) Marco van Basten 3 ( 1988 , 1989 , 1992 ) -- -- Franz Beckenbauer 2 ( 1972 , 1976 ) 2 ( 1974 , 1975 ) 1 ( 1966 ) Ronaldo 2 ( 1997 , 2002 ) 1 ( 1996 ) 1 ( 1998 ) Alfredo Di Stéfano 2 ( 1957 , 1959 ) 1 ( 1956 ) -- Kevin Keegan 2 ( 1978 , 1979 ) 1 ( 1977 ) -- Karl - Heinz Rummenigge 2 ( 1980 , 1981 ) 1 ( 1979 ) -- Luis Suárez 1 ( 1960 ) 2 ( 1961 , 1964 ) 1 ( 1965 ) Eusébio 1 ( 1965 ) 2 ( 1962 , 1966 ) -- Bobby Charlton 1 ( 1966 ) 2 ( 1967 , 1968 ) -- Raymond Kopa 1 ( 1958 ) 1 ( 1959 ) 2 ( 1956 , 1957 ) Gerd Müller 1 ( 1970 ) 1 ( 1972 ) 2 ( 1969 , 1973 ) Zinedine Zidane 1 ( 1998 ) 1 ( 2000 ) 1 ( 1997 ) Gianni Rivera 1 ( 1969 ) 1 ( 1963 ) -- Ruud Gullit 1 ( 1987 ) 1 ( 1988 ) -- Lothar Matthäus 1 ( 1990 ) 1 ( 1991 ) -- Roberto Baggio 1 ( 1993 ) 1 ( 1994 ) -- Hristo Stoichkov 1 ( 1994 ) 1 ( 1992 ) -- Andriy Shevchenko 1 ( 2004 ) -- 2 ( 1999 , 2000 ) George Best 1 ( 1968 ) -- 1 ( 1971 ) Allan Simonsen 1 ( 1977 ) -- 1 ( 1983 ) Ronaldinho 1 ( 2005 ) -- 1 ( 2004 )
2018 FIFA World Cup
Ángel Di María Gabriel Mercado Lionel Messi Marcos Rojo Michy Batshuayi Nacer Chadli Kevin De Bruyne Marouane Fellaini Adnan Januzaj Dries Mertens Thomas Meunier Jan Vertonghen Roberto Firmino Paulinho Renato Augusto Thiago Silva Juan Cuadrado Radamel Falcao Juan Fernando Quintero Kendall Waston Milan Badelj Andrej Kramarić Ivan Rakitić Ante Rebić Domagoj Vida Christian Eriksen Mathias Jørgensen Yussuf Poulsen Dele Alli Jesse Lingard Harry Maguire Kieran Trippier Benjamin Pavard Paul Pogba Samuel Umtiti Raphaël Varane Toni Kroos Marco Reus Alfreð Finnbogason Gylfi Sigurðsson Karim Ansarifard Genki Haraguchi Keisuke Honda Shinji Kagawa Yuya Osako Javier Hernández Hirving Lozano Carlos Vela Khalid Boutaïb Youssef En - Nesyri Victor Moses Felipe Baloy André Carrillo Paolo Guerrero Jan Bednarek Grzegorz Krychowiak Pepe Ricardo Quaresma Mário Fernandes Yury Gazinsky Aleksandr Golovin Salem Al - Dawsari Salman Al - Faraj Sadio Mané M'Baye Niang Moussa Wagué Aleksandar Kolarov Aleksandar Mitrović Kim Young - gwon Iago Aspas Isco Nacho Ludwig Augustinsson Emil Forsberg Ola Toivonen Josip Drmić Blerim Džemaili Xherdan Shaqiri Granit Xhaka Steven Zuber Dylan Bronn Ferjani Sassi Fakhreddine Ben Youssef José Giménez
Cristiano Ronaldo
During the next campaign , the 2014 -- 15 season , Ronaldo set a new personal best of 61 goals in all competitions , starting with both goals in Real Madrid 's 2 -- 0 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup . He subsequently achieved his best - ever goalscoring start to a league campaign , with a record 15 goals in the first eight rounds of La Liga , including a four - goal haul against Elche and hat - tricks against Deportivo La Coruña and Athletic Bilbao . His record 23rd hat - trick in La Liga , scored against Celta Vigo on 6 December , made him the fastest player to reach 200 goals in the Spanish league , as he reached the milestone in only his 178th game . After lifting the FIFA Club World Cup with Madrid in Morocco , again winning the Silver Ball , Ronaldo received a second successive FIFA Ballon d'Or , joining Johan Cruyff , Michel Platini , and Marco van Basten as a three - time Ballon d'Or winner . 2014
Kobe Bryant
Bryant was called `` one of the greatest players in the history of our game '' by NBA commissioner Adam Silver , and The New York Times wrote that he has had `` one of the most decorated careers in the history of the sport . '' Reuters called him `` arguably the best player of his generation '' , while both Sporting News and TNT named him their NBA player of the decade for the 2000s . In 2008 and again in 2016 , ESPN ranked him the second greatest shooting guard of all - time after Jordan . Players including Kevin Durant , Dirk Nowitzki , Dwyane Wade , and Derrick Rose have called Bryant their generation 's version of Jordan . The Press - Enterprise described Bryant as `` maybe the greatest Laker in the organization 's history '' . He is the Lakers ' all - time leading scorer , and his five titles are tied for the most in franchise history . Both numbers he wore during his career , 8 and 24 , are slated to be retired by the Lakers on December 18 , 2017 .
Eden Hazard
Eden Michael Hazard ( French pronunciation : ​ ( edɛn azaʁ ) ; born 7 January 1991 ) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for English club Chelsea and the Belgium national team . He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and as a wide midfielder . Hazard 's creativity , speed , and technical ability are widely acknowledged . He has been described as `` a superb passer '' and has earned critical acclaim for his playing style , which has led to the media , coaches , and players drawing comparisons to Ballon d'Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo . Hazard is often ranked by coaches , colleagues , and commentators as one of the best players in the world .
England at the FIFA World Cup
Golden Ball 1966 : Bobby Charlton Silver Ball 1966 : Bobby Moore Golden Boot 1986 : Gary Lineker Golden Boot 2018 : Harry Kane Bronze Boot 1966 : Geoff Hurst Golden Glove 1966 : Gordon Banks Best Young Player Award 1998 : Michael Owen
England at the FIFA World Cup
After Beckenbauer 's goal , Ramsey substituted Bobby Charlton , who overtook Billy Wright as England 's most capped player ever , with caps totalling 106 . Uwe Seeler equalised for the Germans in the eighty first minute , thereby taking the game into extra time . During extra time , Gerd Müller scored the winning goal for West Germany which saw the German side win 3 -- 2 . This turned out to be Charlton 's last game for England .
Czechoslovakia
Well - known football players such as Pavel Nedvěd , Antonín Panenka , Milan Baroš , Tomáš Rosický , Vladimír Šmicer or Petr Čech were all born in Czechoslovakia .
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane O.L.H. , A.O.M.N. ( French pronunciation : ( zinedin zidan ) ; born 23 June 1972 ) , nicknamed `` Zizou '' , is a French professional football coach and former player . Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time , Zidane was an elite playmaker , renowned for his elegance , vision , ball control and technique , and played as an attacking midfielder for Cannes , Bordeaux , Juventus and Real Madrid . At club level , Zidane won two Serie A league titles with Juventus , which garnered him a move to Real Madrid for a world record fee of € 77.5 million in 2001 , which remained unmatched for the next 8 years . In Spain , Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League , with his left - foot volleyed winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final considered to be one of the greatest goals in the competition 's history . Zidane also won an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup with both teams .
England at the FIFA World Cup
No . Name Matches World Cups Peter Shilton 17 1982 , 1986 , 1990 Terry Butcher 14 1982 , 1986 , 1990 Bobby Charlton 14 1958 , 1962 , 1966 , 1970 Ashley Cole 14 2002 , 2006 , 2010 Bobby Moore 14 1962 , 1966 , 1970 6 David Beckham 13 1998 , 2002 , 2006 7 Steven Gerrard 12 2006 , 2010 , 2014 Gary Lineker 12 1986 , 1990 Michael Owen 12 1998 , 2002 , 2006 10 Chris Waddle 11 1986 , 1990
Zinedine Zidane
-- Alfredo Di Stéfano on Zidane after he was named World Player of the Year in 2003 .
2018 FIFA World Cup
Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball Luka Modrić Eden Hazard Antoine Griezmann Golden Boot Silver Boot Bronze Boot Harry Kane ( 6 goals , 0 assists ) Antoine Griezmann ( 4 goals , 2 assists ) Romelu Lukaku ( 4 goals , 1 assist ) Golden Glove Thibaut Courtois Best Young Player Kylian Mbappé FIFA Fair Play Award Spain
List of most expensive association football transfers
Three players appear on the list twice : Neymar , James Rodríguez and Ángel Di María . All of the players on the list are of European ( UEFA ) , South American ( CONMEBOL ) and African ( CAF ) origin . There are currently no players from the remaining regions - Asia ( AFC ) , North America ( CONCACAF ) and Oceania ( OFC ) .
History of Arsenal F.C. (1966–present)
By now , Wenger had been forced to rebuild much of the Double - winning side of 1998 ; Anelka , Overmars and Petit had all left for Spanish clubs in return for hefty fees , while age was finally catching up with the famous back line ; Bould and Winterburn had already left , and Adams and Dixon would only last another season before retiring . In their place , Wenger signed the likes of Sol Campbell and Lauren in defence , as well as promoting Ashley Cole from the youth ranks . In midfield , Wenger added the talismanic Robert Pirès and signed his compatriot Sylvain Wiltord in attack , while in the meantime Thierry Henry had adapted to the English game to become one of the Premiership 's best strikers .
2017 UEFA Champions League Final
Man of the Match : Cristiano Ronaldo ( Real Madrid ) Assistant referees : Mark Borsch ( Germany ) Stefan Lupp ( Germany ) Fourth official : Milorad Mažić ( Serbia ) Additional assistant referees : Bastian Dankert ( Germany ) Marco Fritz ( Germany ) Reserve assistant referee : Rafael Foltyn ( Germany ) Match rules 90 minutes . 30 minutes of extra time if necessary . Penalty shoot - out if scores still level . Seven named substitutes , of which up to three may be used .
List of Liverpool F.C. records and statistics
B. ^ Ever - present refers to the player playing every minute of every match in the league and cup competitions .
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
1987 Gary Mabbutt 1988 Chris Waddle 1989 Erik Thorstvedt 1990 Paul Gascoigne 1991 Paul Allen 1992 Gary Lineker 1993 Darren Anderton 1994 Jürgen Klinsmann 1995 Teddy Sheringham 1996 Sol Campbell 1997 Sol Campbell 1998 David Ginola 1999 Stephen Carr 2000 Stephen Carr 2001 Neil Sullivan 2002 Simon Davies 2003 Robbie Keane 2004 Jermain Defoe 2005 -- 06 Robbie Keane 2006 -- 07 Dimitar Berbatov 2007 -- 08 Robbie Keane 2008 -- 09 Aaron Lennon 2009 -- 10 Michael Dawson 2010 -- 11 Luka Modrić 2011 -- 12 Scott Parker 2012 -- 13 Gareth Bale 2013 -- 14 Christian Eriksen 2014 -- 15 Harry Kane 2015 -- 16 Toby Alderweireld 2016 -- 17 Christian Eriksen 2017 -- 18 Jan Vertonghen
History of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Following Redknapp 's departure , the club appointed former Chelsea and Porto coach André Villas - Boas as manager . Shortly after his appointment , the club pipped Liverpool for the signature of former Swansea City loanee and 1899 Hoffenheim midfielder Gylfi Sigurðsson . Several days later , the club also resolved the protracted transfer saga surrounding Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen . They were soon followed by Hugo Lloris and Mousa Dembélé , while Modric left for Real Madrid . In the 2012 -- 13 season , they finished fifth . Despite winning a dramatic match against Sunderland with a goal from Gareth Bale in the final match of the season , Arsenal won their last match to take the 2013 -- 14 Champions League spot , and Spurs dropped to the Europa League for the second successive season . In their concurrent 2012 -- 13 Europa League campaign , they were eliminated in the quarter - finals by Swiss side Basel on penalties .
LeBron James
Many basketball analysts , coaches , fans , and current and former players consider James to be one of the greatest players of all - time , often ranking him as the best small forward and in the top five overall . He has earned All - NBA honors every season since his sophomore year , All - Defensive honors every season from 2009 to 2014 , and was named Rookie of the Year in his debut season . With four MVP awards , he is part of a select group of players who have won the award four times , including Kareem Abdul - Jabbar , Jordan , Wilt Chamberlain , and Bill Russell ; James and Russell are the only two players who have won four MVP awards in a five - year span . While James has never won the Defensive Player of the Year Award , he has finished second in the voting twice and lists it as one of his main goals . James has appeared in the Finals eight times and won three championships . Some analysts have criticized him for not having a better Finals record , while others have defended him , arguing that his supporting casts were usually poor and , despite the fact that James had played well , his team was defeated by superior competition .
Jim Thorpe
In a poll of sports fans conducted by ABC Sports , Thorpe was voted the Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century out of 15 other athletes including Muhammad Ali , Babe Ruth , Jesse Owens , Wayne Gretzky , Jack Nicklaus , and Michael Jordan . In 2015 , proposed designs for the 2018 Native American dollar coin featuring Thorpe were released .
Nike, Inc.
Nike also sponsored association football players such as Ronaldinho , Ronaldo , Cristiano Ronaldo , Didier Drogba , Neymar , Zlatan Ibrahimović , Thierry Henry , Wayne Rooney , Francesco Totti , Andrés Iniesta and Landon Donovan among others .
England at the FIFA World Cup
At the finals , England were drawn in a group with Hungary , Argentina and Bulgaria . England defeated Argentina 3 - 1 , thanks to goals from Ron Flowers , Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves , before playing out a goalless draw with Bulgaria , and a 2 -- 1 defeat to Hungary .
England at the FIFA World Cup
At the finals in France , England played in Group G. England defeated Tunisia 2 -- 0 in the first game , with goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes . Their second match saw England lose 2 -- 1 to Romania ; despite an 81st - minute equaliser from Michael Owen , Dan Petrescu scored a winner shortly before injury time . In their final group game , England defeated Colombia 2 -- 0 in the decisive match , thanks to goals from midfielders Darren Anderton and David Beckham . England finished second in Group G , which saw them qualify for the last 16 phase , and play the winner of 1998 FIFA World Cup Group H , Argentina .
List of Liverpool F.C. records and statistics
First Liverpool player to appear at a World Cup : Laurie Hughes for England , at 1950 FIFA World Cup . Most World Cup appearances while a Liverpool player : Steven Gerrard , 12 for England in 2006 , 2010 and 2014 . Most World Cup goals while a Liverpool player : Michael Owen , 4 for England in 1998 and 2002 . First World Cup winners : Roger Hunt , Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne , in 1966 with England . First non-British player to appear in a World Cup final : Dietmar Hamann , Germany , in 2002 . First non-British World Cup winners : Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina , Spain in 2010 .
Cristiano Ronaldo
Only player to be among the finalists for all the editions of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award : 2010 -- 11 to 2016 -- 17 Fastest player to score 350 goals for one club ( 335 games ) Most UEFA Best Player in Europe awards : 4 ( 2008 , 2014 , 2016 and 2017 ) Most Champions League top scorer awards : 6 Only player to finish Champions League top scorer in 5 consecutive seasons ( 2012 - 2013 to 2016 - 2017 ) Only player in history to score 10 + goals in 6 UEFA Champions League seasons ( did it consecutively ) Most quarter - final goals in the UEFA Champions League : 20 goals Most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals : 13 goals Most free kicks scored in UEFA Champions League : 12 free kick goals Most goals scored from penalty kicks in UEFA Champions League history : 13 Most goals scored against a single opponent in the Champions League : 9 goals against Bayern Munich ( shared with Lionel Messi ) ( against Arsenal ) ) Most headed goals scored in the UEFA Champions League : 18 goals Most goals scored in European World Cup Qualifiers : 30 goals Spain Most hat - tricks in La Liga history : 32 Most goals scored from penalty kicks in La Liga history : 58 Fastest La Liga player to score 150 league goals ( 140 games ) Fastest La Liga player to score 200 league goals ( 178 games )
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Osvaldo Ardiles Ricardo Villa Clive Allen Les Allen Paul Allen Darren Anderton Peter Baker Phil Beal Bobby Buckle Keith Burkinshaw Martin Chivers Tommy Clay Ray Clemence Ralph Coates Garth Crooks Jimmy Dimmock Ted Ditchburn Terry Dyson Paul Gascoigne Arthur Grimsdell Jimmy Greaves Willie Hall Ron Henry Glenn Hoddle Jack Jull Cyril Knowles Gary Lineker Gary Mabbutt Paul Miller Billy Minter Tom Morris Alan Mullery Bill Nicholson Maurice Norman Steve Perryman Martin Peters John Pratt Graham Roberts Teddy Sheringham Bobby Smith Vivian Woodward Chris Waddle Fanny Walden David Ginola Steffen Freund Jürgen Klinsmann Chris Hughton Danny Blanchflower Pat Jennings Steve Archibald Bill Brown John Cameron Alan Gilzean Dave Mackay John White Ronnie Burgess Mike England Cliff Jones Terry Medwin Taffy O'Callaghan
Scottish Premier League
Kilmarnock and Rangers player Kris Boyd scored the most goals in the SPL , with 167 goals . He broke the previous record of 158 , set by Henrik Larsson , by scoring five goals for Rangers in a 7 -- 1 win against Dundee United on 30 December 2009 . Boyd and Larsson were the only players who scored more than 100 goals in the SPL era . There are players who scored far more goals in the predecessor Scottish Football League competition , with Jimmy McGrory holding the overall record with 408 goals in the top flight of Scottish football . Top
Cristiano Ronaldo
Fastest player to reach 300 official club goals Most goals scored in Madrid Derby matches : 18 First player to score in six consecutive Clásicos Best scoring start in a Spanish league season : 15 goals in eight rounds Fastest player to reach 20 league goals in one season : 12 games ( missed one game due to injury ) Only player to reach 30 goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons Most teams scored against in a season ( 2012 -- 13 ) : 19 ( shared with Ronaldo Nazário and Lionel Messi ) Most La Liga hat - tricks in a season : 8 hat - tricks ( shared with Lionel Messi ) Most hat - tricks scored in all competitions : 36 Manchester United Most league goals in a 38 - game season ( 2007 -- 08 ) : 31 Premier League goals ( shared with Alan Shearer ) Real Madrid Real Madrid all - time top goalscorer : 412 goals Top goalscorer in La Liga : 285 goals Fastest player to reach 50 league goals Fastest player to reach 100 league goals Fastest player to reach 200 official goals Fastest player to reach 250 official goals Fastest player to reach 300 official goals Most goals scored in seven consecutive league matches : 15 goals First player to score in eight consecutive matchdays Most hat - tricks in Real Madrid 's history : 42 Real Madrid record goalscorer in UEFA Champions League : 90 goals Real Madrid record goalscorer in European competitions : 94 goals
List of most expensive association football transfers
8,000,000 -- 16,686,521 33 1992 Jean - Pierre Papin Marseille Milan 22 ! 10,000,000 -- 18,991,397 25 1992 Gianluca Vialli Sampdoria Juventus 23 ! 12,000,000 -- 22,789,677 20 1992 Gianluigi Lentini Torino Milan 24 ! 13,000,000 -- 24,688,816 8 Ronaldo PSV Eindhoven Barcelona 26 ! 13,200,000 -- 22,738,197 Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers Newcastle United 25 ! 15,000,000 -- 25,838,860 14 1997 Ronaldo Barcelona Internazionale 26 ! 19,500,000 -- 32,568,737 30 1998 Denílson São Paulo Real Betis 27 ! 21,500,000 -- 34,718,967 10 1999 Christian Vieri Lazio Internazionale 28 ! 32,000,000 49,000,000 51,049,447 49 2000 Hernán Crespo Parma Lazio 29 ! 35,500,000 55,000,000 54,834,955 11 2000 Luís Figo Barcelona Real Madrid 30 ! 37,000,000 62,000,000 57,151,924 2001 Zinedine Zidane Juventus Real Madrid 31 ! 46,600,000 77,500,000 69,816,449 26 2009 Kaká Milan Real Madrid 33 ! 56,000,000 67,000,000 68,933,036 20 2009 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Real Madrid 36 ! 80,000,000 94,000,000 98,475,766 43 2013 Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur Real Madrid 37 ! 86,000,000 100,000,000 90,454,903 8 2016 Paul Pogba Juventus Manchester United 38 ! 89,000,000 105,000,000 89,000,000 2017 Neymar Barcelona Paris Saint - Germain 39 ! 198,000,000 222,000,000 198,000,000 125
Cristiano Ronaldo
, 2013 -- 14 , 2014 -- 15 IFFHS World 's Best Top Goal Scorer : 2013 , 2014 , 2016 IFFHS World 's Best Top Division Scorer : 2014 , 2015 FIFA Puskás Award : 2009 FIFA FIFPro World XI : 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 UEFA Team of the Year : 2004 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year ESM Team of the Year : 2006 -- 07 , 2007 -- 08 , 2010 -- 11 , 2011 -- 12 , 2012 -- 13 , 2013 -- 14 , 2014 -- 15 , 2016 -- 17 FIFA Club World Cup Golden Boot : 2016 FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball : 2016 FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball : 2008 , 2014 FIFA Club World Cup top assist provider : 2014 UEFA Club Footballer of the Year : 2007 -- 08 UEFA Champions League Best Forward : 2007 -- 08 , 2016 -- 17 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season : 2013 -- 14 , 2014 -- 15 , 2015 -- 16 , 2016 -- 17 UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage : 2015 -- 16 UEFA Champions League top scorer : 2007 -- 08 , 2012 -- 13 , 2013 -- 14 , 2014 -- 15 , 2015 -- 16 , 2016 -- 17 UEFA Champions League top assist provider : 2013 -- 14 UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament : 2004 , 2012 , 2016 UEFA European Championship Silver Boot : 2016 UEFA Euro All Time XI UEFA European Championship top scorer : 2012 Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year : 2003 -- 04 , 2006 -- 07 , 2007 -- 08
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid 's failure to win major silverware and reports of division among the players prompted speculation regarding Ronaldo 's future at the club . At the start of the 2013 -- 14 season , however , he signed a new contract that extended his stay by three years to 2018 , with a salary of € 17 million net , making him briefly the highest - paid player in football . He was joined at the club by winger Gareth Bale , whose world record transfer fee of € 100 million surpassed the fee Madrid had paid for Ronaldo four years prior . Together with striker Karim Benzema , they formed an attacking trio popularly dubbed `` BBC '' , an acronym of Bale , Benzema , and Cristiano . After enjoying a strong goalscoring run during the first half of the campaign , Ronaldo suggested that he was in the best form of his career . By late November , he had scored 32 goals from 22 matches played for both club and country , including hat - tricks against Galatasaray , Sevilla , Real Sociedad , Northern Ireland , and Sweden . He ended 2013 with a total of 69 goals in 59 appearances , his highest year - end goal tally . His efforts earned him the FIFA Ballon d'Or , an amalgamation of the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award , for the first time in his career .