Sergio Ramos is one of the greatest footballers of all time. There, I said it.
Aside from establishing himself as arguably the finest defender of his generation, the Real Madrid skipper has fascinated football fans with his uncanny eye for goal in recent years.
While Ramos has never been too many games away from finding the net, the Spaniard seems to have upped the ante recently and reached a new high watermark of 13 strikes last season.
Ramos reaches 100 Real goals
And Ramos seems to have picked up where he left off since the restart and even produced a moment of history when he found the net with a glancing header against Inter Milan.
That's because Los Blancos' second strike of their Champions League victory marked Ramos' 100th goal in the famous white jersey, which is a staggering feat for a defender.
Sure, there's no denying it, Ramos' total has been massaged by his deadliness from the spot since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, but he's still much more than a mere 'penalty merchant'.
126 career goals for Ramos
Besides, we're talking about a centre-back who converted a free-kick against Mallorca in June and his two goals in Champions League finals highlight his potency from set-pieces.
And now that Ramos has become a centurion at the Bernabeu, he is just a few strikes away from becoming the fifth most prolific defender in history with 126 career goals for club and country.
It's a pretty staggering number and one that got us wondering here at GIVEMESPORT: just how many world-class players, featuring in more offensive positions, has Ramos now outscored?
Players with fewer goals
Well, we couldn't help ourselves and after traipsing through statistical bodies such as transfermarkt, we've found at least 17 players, both past and present, who fall short of Ramos' incredible tally.
Patrick Vieira - 64 goals
We're starting tame, admittedly, because Vieira occupied himself with defensive duties for great swathes of his career, but it's staggering to think that Ramos has nearly doubled his career tally.
Paul Pogba - 77 goals
Another World Cup-winning French midfielder and one who has certainly benefitted from penalties, too, but Pogba faces an uphill battle to outscore Ramos by the time they both finish their careers.
Andres Iniesta - 84 goals
It must be said that although Iniesta was unequivocably world-class in so many aspects of his game, he was never a top goalscorer from midfield and Real Madrid fans will enjoy this statistic no end.
Andrea Pirlo - 86 goals
For a player who scored more than 30 goals from free-kicks in this illustrious career, you'd think that Pirlo would have given Ramos a run for his money, but he finishes exactly 40 strikes short.
Gabriel Jesus - 88 goals
A little harsh, it must be said, because Jesus is only 23 years old, but even a player with four full seasons in Pep Guardiola's rampant Manchester City side is still a few years shy of Ramos' total.
Guti - 92 goals
Another midfielder who wasn't known for his goal-scoring - no-look back-heel assists, on the other hand... - though the Real icon's most prolific season of 18 strikes in 2000/01 does top Ramos'.
Roy Keane - 96 goals
You get the feeling that Keane and Ramos would get on, don't you? That being said, the Manchester United great might take umbrage with the penalty-taking maverick outdoing his stats.
Luka Modric - 101 goals
A hugely talented midfielder who shares the Real dressing room with Ramos and even has a Ballon d'Or to show for it, but the odd screamer aside, Modric has never been truly lethal in front of goal.
Jose Antonio Reyes - 102 goals
For all of the Sevilla legend's talent in the final third, it's surprising to note that a 12-goal haul in his first full season at Arsenal was the most prolific campaign of his career. RIP, Jose.
Freddie Ljungberg - 103 goals
From one Arsenal 'Invincible' to another and it seems those iconic goals at Highbury either with the red streak or no hair at all are only enough to get within 25 goals of the current Real captain.
Mesut Ozil - 112 goals
As much as Ozil is still, technically, an active player, it seems highly unlikely that the former Real playmaker will be able to catch his former teammate as long as his Arsenal exile continues.
Roberto Carlos - 113 goals
It might seem strange to include another defender here, but make no mistake that overtaking Carlos is no mean feat considering his deadly free-kicks, long-range strikes and bombing runs forward.
Philippe Coutinho - 121 goals
You can expect Coutinho to finish comfortably above his rival across El Clasico battle-lines, but Real supporters can at least chuckle to themselves that, for now, their defender tops Barca's playmaker.
Julio Baptista - 123 goals
We're not going to lie, it was incredibly tough to find a retired striker who was world-class at times and still finished shy of Ramos and although Baptista is a slight reach, it's still a pretty remarkable stat.
Xavi - 123 goals
The most recent legend that Ramos has thrown by the wayside comes in the form of a Barcelona icon, though, sorry Sergio, you'll have to do much more to better Xavi's glittering legacy overall.
Note: If you include Xavi's three strikes for Barcelona B, he finishes level with Ramos' current tally.
Sergio Ramos - 126 goals
That brings us to the man himself. It's borderline bonkers to think that Ramos, still with plenty in the tank, has already outscored Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo, Carlos, Keane and many more from centre-back.
Ramos might as well just kiss goodbye to defending and lead the line for Madrid in his twilight years.
Ramos' incredible legacy
Let's face it, we'd all love to see him try and given his goal-scoring record from the back, you wouldn't put it past him to notch at least 10 goals excluding penalties and set-pieces
But even with the skipper leading from within the back-line, Real have themselves a unique weapon that, so far this season, has harvested more goals from open play than Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
The only thing that remains to be seen is just how many more legendary players Ramos can usurp in the career charts before he hangs up his controversial and mercurial boots.
