Highest jumps by Cristiano Ronaldo: Know the Portuguese phenom’s gravity-defying leaps

Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, revered as one of the greatest football players to grace the sport of football, has, time and again, shown the world what he is capable of.

Be it scoring goals at will or winning games singlehandedly, the talismanic Portuguese star has always set high standards.

The versatile attacker, known for his speed, dribbling and shooting accuracy, has improved his technical skills with each passing year, becoming more lethal with every season.

His aerial ability is unquestionably second to none as 112 of his 800-plus career goals have come from headers, making him the player with the most headed goals in the history of the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo, memorably, jumped a staggering 2.93m while playing for Real Madrid against Manchester United in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League Round of 16. It still stands as Ronaldo’s highest jump till date.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s highest jump

2.93 metres - Real Madrid vs Manchester United (Champions League 2012-13)

One of the UCL 2012-13 Round of 16 fixtures saw the two heavyweights lock horns over two legs. 

The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw as Cristiano Ronaldo, facing his former club for the first time since sealing a move to the Spanish capital in 2009, scored the headed equaliser at the 30th-minute mark from Angel Di Maria’s pinpoint cross from the left flank.

Ronaldo’s head was 2.93 metres above the ground when he came in contact with the ball, making it his highest leap.

Los Blancos went on to win the tie by an aggregate score of 3-2, with Ronaldo knocking his former employers out with the winning goal in the second leg.

2.56 metres - Juventus vs Sampdoria (Serie A 2019-20)

Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-highest jump was recorded at 2.56 metres when he scored a fantastic header for Juventus after leaving Sampdoria goalie Emil Audero awestruck. The goal, just before half-time, gave his team a 2-1 lead, which eventually proved to be the winning strike.

An interesting fact about the goal was that Ronaldo remained suspended in the air for roughly 1.5 seconds before the ball touched his head, which was deemed as a ‘gravity-defying goal’ by several fans and pundits.  

2.47 metres - Juventus vs Torino (Serie A 2018-19)

In the first season with his former club Juventus, Ronaldo scored the last of his 21 league goals with a bullet header against Torino, where his jump was recorded to be 2.47 metres above the ground.

With the title already sealed, the 84th-minute goal helped his team avoid a defeat as The Old Lady of Turin went on to bag their eighth Serie A trophy in a row.

Photo credit: Alamy