Gangtok, July 7 -- When Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the pitch at Dallas Stadium on Monday night, tears in his eyes, he closed the World Cup chapter of one of the greatest careers football has ever seen. The 41-year-old confirmed after Portugal's 1-0 Round of 16 defeat to Spain that he had played his last World Cup match. It is the right moment to look back at what this extraordinary man achieved, and the one prize that always stayed out of reach.

The Numbers That Defy Beli

Ronaldo's career statistics read like fiction. He has scored 976 official goals for club and country, the most in football history, and stands just 24 goals away from the unprecedented milestone of 1,000 career goals. He is one of only three players ever to cross 1,3...