Might a player who has been at a 100-year old club for no more than four years be considered a legend in it? If that player's name happens to be Cristiano Ronaldo, then the answer is yes. He has already gone down in history at Real Madrid and looks like he will leave traces which it will be impossible to erase for many years. And all the more so now that he has renewed his contract.

When his new contract ends, in June 2018, he will have played nine seasons at Real. It is quite astonishing to think about what his statistics might be by then. If he continues as he is doing now, with a rate of more than one goal per game, then he will have left well behind the figures chalked up by Real Madrid myths such as Raúl or Alfredo di Stéfano.

He has scored 202 goals in 199 games for Real Madrid, and, irrespective of any more big signings that might arrive at Real, Cristiano Ronaldo is the flagship of the project. He was with Pellegrini and Mourinho, and he is with Ancelotti and so he will continue as long as he stays at the Santiago Bernabéu.