Football facts: 10 players who have played most games with Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest goalscorer of the modern era has been one of the most influential people in world football. If not all, most of the footballers who played with Cristiano Ronaldo agreed on the fact he is by far the best player they have played with. Ronaldo has played for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus FC and Al-Nassr at club level and broke multiple records while playing for those clubs. In international football, he represents Portugal and is the player with the most international goals in the history of football. In the FIFA Friendlies between Slovenia and Portugal match on 27th March, Pepe went past Karim Benzema to become the player with the most games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. That's who on our latest article on football facts special, we present you the list of players who have played the most number of games with Cristiano in our latest article on football facts special.

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10. Xabi Alonso | 208 matches

Xabi Alonso, the current manager of Bayer Leverkusen, played 208 matches alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. All of their matches were for the Real Madrid team where they went on to win several trophies including 1 Champions League, 1 La Liga, 2 Copa de Rey, 2 Spanish Cup 1 Spanish Super Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cup. However, it is to be noted that Xabi was not on the playing eleven in the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid. Both of them shared 16,692 minutes on the field together and had 6 goal contributions in between them as well. Xabi left for Bayern Munich in 2014 while Ronaldo continued playing the Galacticos till 2018.

9. John O'Shea | 215 matches

John O'Shea, the Manchester United centre-back from Ireland played 215 matches alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. The Irish defender is one of the most underrated Manchester United players of his time. He shared 12,612 minutes on the field with Ronaldo and won 3 Premier League titles, 1 UEFA Champions League in 2007-08, 1 English Super Cup, 2 English League Cups, 1 FA Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

8. Rio Ferdinand | 221 games

Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United and England legend was one of the players who backed a young Cristiano Ronaldo to become world beater one day. Rio was the backbone of Sir Alex Ferguson's backline and played a crucial role as a leader of the team to help Ronaldo flourish. Rio shared 17233 minutes alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United and won the same 8 trophies together alongside John O'Shea.

7. Luka Modric | 222 matches

In this special football facts list Luka Modric comes at number seven with 222 games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. The Croatian great joined Real Madrid in the 2012-13 season and since then has proven himself as a midfield maestro as well. The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner won four Champions League trophies with Ronaldo in the 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, and  2017-18 season. They also won 3 FIFA Club World Cups, 2 Spanish Super Cups, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 2 La Liga titles together. They have 16 goal contributions together as well.

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6. Ikar Casialls | 228 games

The former Real Madrid and Spain captain played 228 games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. One of the most decorated goalkeepers Casialls was already a Real Madrid star when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009. Casillas joined Real Madrid in 1999 and was there till 2015. Ronaldo and Casialls played 228 games together and shared the pitch for 19432 minutes, the most Ronaldo shared with a goalkeeper in his career. They both won 1 La Liga, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Spanish Cup, 1 Spanish Super Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup,  1 FIFA Club World Cup and 1 UEFA Champions League together. 

5. Raphael Varane | 231 games

Varane is the first and only player on our special football facts list who has played with Ronaldo for two clubs. The French defender shared the field with Ronaldo while playing for Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. Though most of his games with Ronaldo are for Real Madrid, they shared the United dressing room during Ronaldo's second stint at Old Trafford. Both of them shared the field for 17610 minutes. They won four Champions League titles, three FIFA Club World Cups, two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, and one Spanish Cup together.

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4. Marcelo | 332 matches

Marcelo, the Brazilian defender is regarded as one of the best mates of Cristiano Ronaldo and one of his best teammates. Marcelo and Ronaldo shared the field on 332 occasions before Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018. Just like Varane, Marcelo won four Champions League titles, three FIFA Club World Cups, two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, and one Spanish Cup while playing with Cristiano Ronaldo. They shared 26,091 minutes and have 33 goal contributions among themselves. As a player, Marcelo won six La Liga titles.

3. Sergio Ramos | 339 games

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos were one of the main reasons for Real Madrid's success in the 2010s. In 2009, when Ronaldo joined Real Madrid for a record transfer fee, Ramos was already a rock at the back for the Los Blancos. Despite being a defender, Ramos always had the knack of scoring goals for Real Madrid at crucial times. His 93rd-minute goal in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final in Lisbon is considered one of the greatest goals in the tournament's history. That goal helped them win the "La Décima". Together, they also won four Champions League titles alongside three FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, and two Spanish Cups.

2. Karim Benzema | 342 games

Karim Benzema played as many as 342 games alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid, part of the historical B-B-C attack that led Real Madrid to many great successes. At the club level, no one has played more matches with Ronaldo than Karim Benzema. They share 76 goal contributions between themselves as well. They had played 22,356 minutes together winning four Champions League titles alongside three FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, and two Spanish Cups.

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1. Pepe | 343* games

During the Slovenia vs Portugal match on 27th March 2024, Pepe surpassed Karim Benzema's record to become Cristiano Ronaldo's longest-standing teammate. The Portuguese defender has been playing with Ronaldo since the 2007/08 season and still going strong. At 41, he recently became the oldest player to score in UEFA Champions League history. He started sharing the field at the club level in the 2009/10 season and it continued till the 2017 season before Pepe left Real Madrid to join Besiktas. Alongside winning three Champions Leagues together, Pepe and Ronaldo both helped the Portugal National football team win the historical 2016 Euro Cup as well.