Sunday 23 August 2015 11:16, UK
La Liga returns to Sky Sports screens this weekend and all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid's season opener away to Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner remains one of the blockbuster attractions in Spanish football, and his numbers from the 2014/15 campaign are scarcely believable.
With 48 goals, Ronaldo scored more on his own than 14 different teams in La Liga. He pipped Lionel Messi to the Pichichi top scorer award, there were eight hat-tricks in 35 league appearances, and his overall total of 61 was the highest of his career.
And yet it still wasn't enough. Barcelona edged a thrilling La Liga title race by two points, and Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League and Copa del Rey by Juventus and Atletico Madrid respectively.
Ronaldo and Real are eyeing a return to trophy-winning ways under Rafael Benitez, and, as always, the man in the No 7 shirt will be key to their chances. "I never worked with him before, but he is an experienced manager," Ronaldo said of Benitez in a recent interview. "Let's see if we win some important titles. I'm quite confident and look forward to that."
Ronaldo is embarking on his seventh season at Madrid having spent six years at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009. So how do the two sections of his career compare? Ronaldo was already a Ballon d'Or winner when he made his £85m move to Madrid, but he has scaled new heights as a player since – and the numbers emphasise his remarkable improvement.
The Portuguese powerhouse is just 10 goals short of Raul's Real Madrid scoring record, and his total of 313 has come in just 300 appearances for the club, giving him a mind-blowing average of 52.2 goals per season since 2009.
Ronaldo was never quite so prolific at United. His highest total was 42 in their double-winning 2007/08 campaign, and having joined the club as a brilliant but raw teenager, he 'only' averaged 19.6 goals per season over the course of his time there.
But despite averaging 1.1 goals per game in La Liga compared to 0.43 in the Premier League, Ronaldo's United trophy haul is still superior. Madrid's 2013/14 Champions League triumph ended their long wait for La Decima and allowed Ronaldo to lift the trophy for the second time in his career, but he is still two trophies short of the nine he won at United.
A single La Liga triumph in six years can partly be explained by the unparalleled brilliance of Barcelona at certain times, but it also raises interesting questions about Ronaldo's role at Madrid.
Spanish football expert Terry Gibson told Sky Sports last season that Ronaldo's "obsession" with scoring was in fact an obstacle for Madrid. "I think his individual obsession with his own achievements is hindering the performance of the Real Madrid team," said Gibson.
"He has phenomenal stats every year. They get better and better but the all-round performance of Real Madrid is suffering because of his obsession with just scoring goals."
Graham Hunter, on the other hand, feels it is Madrid's responsibility to capitalise on Ronaldo's scoring feats. "Real Madrid have failed Ronaldo," he said on Revista de La Liga in May. "We've all learned that if you implant the right strategy and let it grow, it will continue to flower and feed you back. But they don't have it and it is (Madrid president) Florentino Perez's fault. They've got this great resource and they are letting it rust."
Whoever you believe, there is no doubting the fact that Ronaldo's fortunes will be key as he bids to match his Manchester United trophy haul this season. Madrid's hopes of overhauling Barcelona and conquering Europe again weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Watch Sporting Gijon v Real Madrid live on Sky Sports 3 HD from 7.30pm on Sunday
