Cristiano Ronaldo's Coca Cola Incident, 4 Other Highlights Of 2021 [Watch]

One of the best players to have ever graced the game of soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo, continues to be in the limelight -- both on and off the field.

The year 2021 will always have a special place in Ronaldo’s heart as he returned to Manchester United, a club he had left 12 years ago. It was at Old Trafford where Ronaldo first tasted the success of being a celebrity and there was no looking back for the Portuguese forward, who is one of the highest-paid sportspersons worldwide.

In the ongoing season, Ronaldo has netted 13 goals and two assists in 19 appearances for Manchester United, across all competitions. He has also scored 13 goals for Portugal in 17 games in 2021.

Let’s look at 5 highlights of Ronaldo in 2021:

• Ronaldo’s Coca Cola incident

Before making headlines for being the top scorer at the European Championship, Ronaldo took the internet by storm during his first pre-match conference of the tournament before Portugal’s tie against Hungary. When Ronaldo sat for the conference, he noticed two bottles of Coca-Cola were placed directly in front of him. Ronaldo, a fitness enthusiast who is known for his disdain for carbonated drinks, promptly removed the soft drinks from the view of the cameras and replaced them with a water bottle, rolling his eyes while grumbling with a tinge of disgust "Coca-Cola".

As a result, the beverage giant suffered losses of billions of dollars.

• Ronaldo scores on second Man Utd debut

Ronaldo, who first joined Manchester United in 2003, made his second debut with the Red Devils in their Premier League clash with Newcastle on Sept. 11. The 36-year-old announced his arrival by scoring a brace as United won the game 4-1.

• Late winners for Manchester United

Manchester United finished at the top of Group F in the UEFA Championships League, mostly because of one figure – Ronaldo. In two back-to-back games, against Villarreal and Atalanta, he netted late winners. In the second leg against Atalanta, Ronaldo netted an injury-time equalizer. Ronaldo, who has six goals in five games, scored in all the group games he played in the competition this season.

• All-Time Leading Top Scorer in International Soccer

With 109 goals, Iranian legend held the record of most international goals for years. Earlier this year, Ronaldo broke the record and he did it in style. Portugal were a goal down against Republic Ireland in a World Cup qualifying match. The Manchester United star netted an equalizer at the 89th minute before scoring the winner a minute later. Ronaldo now has 115 goals to his name in 184 games for Portugal.

• The Big 800!

During a Premier League game against Arsenal this month, Ronaldo netted a brace.

That took his career goals (club+country) tally to 800, making him the first-ever professional soccer player to the prestigious feat.