Can you call yourself a football fan if you don't appreciate the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo?

There are plenty of us that would count themselves as more Lionel Messi fans, but nobody can keep a straight face while saying that Ronaldo isn't one of the greatest sportspeople in history.

The man is a serial winner. Across spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, the Portuguese has won just about every trophy under the sun and probably at least twice over.

Ronaldo has won the league title in Italy, Spain and England, collected an unprecedented five Champions League titles and has taken home the Ballon d'Or crown on five occasions. 

He's the all-time record goalscorer for Portugal - leading them to European gold in 2016 - and Real Madrid, amassing an overall career tally of 689 goals across 864 appearances.

Ronaldo's incredible skills

However, what can't be quantified into numbers are some of the memorable moments Ronaldo has produced, living longer in fans' memories than they ever could in a records book.

And while Ronaldo has somewhat streamlined his playing style in recent years, some of the most riveting moments have come when he's turned on the skills.

There's no better sight than a top player like Ronaldo mesmerising defenders with step-overs and sending them for a hot dog with the latest trick in their arsenal.

7 minutes of Ronaldo fooling defenders

The greatest of all skills are the ones that put defenders completely on their backside, though, and Ronaldo has produced more than enough killer skills to make that a regular occurrence.

Enter YouTuber SLIZHENKOV HD. They have proven that point to such an extent that they've managed to compile seven whole minutes of Ronaldo bringing defenders to ground.

Check out the full video down below:

That's a lot of broken hearts and lost souls for one compilation.

Quite how one man can manage to completely fool defenders so many times, never mind legends like Ashley Cole and Gerard Pique, is frankly beyond our comprehension.

Besides, there's a difference between getting past a defender with a turn of pace or simple sidestep and leading them on to such an extent that they fall to the pitch. 

And while some of the best literally see the defender flattened, seeing opposition players go slide-tackling for a ball that moved on seconds previously is brilliant as well.

The only sad fact is that Ronaldo has only got so many years left at the top, but we're pretty sure he can bolster that video to 10 minutes before he hangs up his boots.

Do you think Ronaldo is the greatest footballer in history? Have your say in the comments section below.