Just when we thought we’d seen everything Cristiano Ronaldo had to offer, he goes and leaves us all astonished once more.The forward is 34 now but he’s still capable of producing dazzling moments.And his performance in Portugal’s 3-1 win against Switzerland on Wednesday evening was full of them.The Juventus star produced a masterclass, which included the 53rd hat-trick of his career, to secure Portugal’s place in the UEFA Nations League final.Ronaldo hasn't been mentioned as a candidate for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, partly because Juventus exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

• Ronaldo has 53 career hat-tricks
• Ronaldo's free-kick v Switzerland
• Messi admits he misses Ronaldo

But we shouldn’t forget about his extraordinary abilities.

His latest hat-trick was his seventh for Portugal. Incredibly, he has now accounted for 30% of his nation’s total hat-tricks.

'Ronaldo's a football genius'

And one man who has been left delighted with Ronaldo’s latest heroics is Portugal boss Fernando Santos.

Santos, who guided the country to success at Euro 2016, raved about the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at full-time, labelling him a “football genius”.

“In terms of adjectives to describe Ronaldo's game - I've used many. I was his coach in 2003 and I could see where he'd go," Santos said, per Goal.

“He's a genius. There's genius paintings and sculptures - and he's a football genius."

Santos knows just how lucky he is to have Ronaldo on his team.

He’ll be hoping that the Juventus forward is just as impressive in the final on Sunday.

Portugal will play either England or Netherlands as they bid to become the winners of the inaugural Nations League.

Santos acknowledged Ronaldo made the difference, but insisted Switzerland didn’t make things easy for his side.

“When someone scores three goals, they are the difference maker. It was a tough game, it was well played - two sides who are very strong, playing to win," he added.

"They're strategically well organised, changing their formation. Their players know what they have to do on the pitch, limiting some of the gaps we'd thought about."

Switzerland’s problem? They didn’t have Cristiano Ronaldo.