Cristiano Ronaldo really has stolen the show at Euro 2020.
Even before the Portuguese superstar kicked a ball, he made headlines around the world simply by moving two bottles of Coca-Cola.
It reports are to be believed, Ronaldo’s actions caused stocks in the soft drink company to fall by $4 billion.
Twenty-four hours later, Ronaldo did his talking on the pitch.
In Portugal’s opener against Hungary, Ronaldo became the all-time record goalscorer in the European Championships with a brace during the 3-0 win.
He notched another goal in Portugal’s 4-2 defeat against Germany.
But he was never going to allow his nation to be knocked out of the group stages.
Against France, he scored two penalties in a 2-2 to ensure Portugal snuck through the group of death in third place. Not only that but his couple of goals saw him equal Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals. And counting…
Thirty-six years old and still going very strong.
You’ll be foolish to bet against Ronaldo leading Portugal to consecutive European Championships after their triumph in 2016.
However, we wanted to cast our minds back to Ronaldo’s very first international tournament for Portugal, in Portugal.
Back in Euro 2004, Ronaldo wasn’t exactly a household name but announced himself to the world with some incredible performances during the tournament.
The Big Fat Euro 2020 Quiz
However, he didn’t quite have the impact he would have liked in the quarter-finals against England.
Why? Because of a certain Ashley Cole.
Seventeen years ago, the English left-back pocketed Ronaldo with a quite incredible individual performance during the 1-1 draw that Portugal ultimately won on penalties.
The footage has been shared on social media this week on its anniversary.
Ashley Cole vs Ronaldo in 2004
What a performance.
Check out the reaction from football fans:
A few years ago, Ronaldo admitted that Cole was the toughest opponent he faced during his career.
"Over the years I had some great battles with Ashley Cole, he does not give you a second to breathe," Ronaldo told Coach Mag. "He was such a tenacious player when he was at his peak, quick, tough in the tackle. You knew it would never be an easy game."
However, the feeling wasn’t exactly mutual as Cole revealed he was actually #TeamMessi.
"It has to be Messi," he said on Sky Sports.
"People talk about Ronaldo more because I played against him more. But I think to mark Messi, on his day... he was just too good for me.
"But, again, he's never scored [against me]."
[gmsStartingEleven url="https://givemesport.starting11.co.uk/2019-11-11/"]