Five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, has become the first football player to appear in five different European Championships since the competition’s history.

The Juventus forward made his debut in the 2008 edition of the completion hosted by his country Portugal which they began with a 2-1 loss against eventual winners, Greece, which left young Ronaldo in tears after a 1-0 defeat at the final.

Four years later, Ronaldo was unable to match his two goals scored in the last competition by registering just one goal in 2008 just as Portugal failed to reach the final after they were knocked out by Germany 2-1 in the Quarter-finals of the competition hosted by Austria-Switzerland.

The former Manchester United icon had developed into a menace to defenders and opposing teams by the next Championship in 2012, Poland-Ukraine, where though he scored three goals, Portugal was eliminated on penalties in the semifinals by eventual winners Spain, who retained the trophy.

However, in 2016, Ronaldo took the captaincy mantle and this time he led the Portuguese to victory. Although injured a few nmintes into the final against France, the 36-year-old encouraged his teammates all the way before Eder stunner sealed the win against the French team.

Ronaldo who won the tournament as a Real Madrid star, is hoping to make another history as he leads Portugal to the EURO 2020 tournament in 2021, after a year’s delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Portugal face a tough test against Germany and France in Goup F as they begin their campaign on June 15 against Hungary at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium in Budapest.

Ronaldo is in a league of his own having missed a solitary match in his nation’s last five campaigns, EURO 2020 included – he sat out the final group game against Switzerland in 2008, with Portugal already through. His nearest rival is former Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who made 18 appearances.

If Portugal triumph at Wembley and Ronaldo keeps the armband then he will join Spain’s Iker Casillas (2008 and 2012) as the only man to have captained sides to two EURO successes.