Cristiano Ronaldo stands aside Lionel Messi as the two greatest footballers on earth. However, they come from two different worlds, and Ronaldo’s road to immortality wasn’t quite as clear as Messi’s.

Miguel Delaney plotted Ronaldo’s statistical ascendency into what is arguable his prime, and the results were surprising, given the potential of his contemporaries:

The point to all of this is not just that Ronaldo has obviously improved, honed his game or altered his position. It is that he has gone from a scoring record that was arguably less than mediocre for a talented young winger, to one that is of historic quality for anyone in the sport.

In that context, it is genuinely remarkable.

On Sunday, Ronaldo scored his 208th goal in 205 appearances. Even the goal itself was a work of art.

The point is, Spanish football is in a bit of a golden age. I’m very late to the party, but I urge everyone to join in while it lasts.