Cristiano Ronaldo 2018: glory and goodbye
Published on 29 October 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo's 2018 was the year his Real Madrid story ended at its highest point and his next chapter began. In twelve months he won a third straight European Cup, scored one of the most famous goals ever seen in the Champions League, produced a World Cup hat-trick against Spain, and then left Madrid for Juventus. This article follows that year in order, separates what happened from what came later, and explains why 2018 still defines how fans remember his Madrid era.
The promise is simple: by the end, you will know exactly what Ronaldo did in 2018, in what order, and which moments belong to other years. Where a famous event is often misdated, this article says so plainly.
The bicycle kick in Turin
The year began, in football terms, on 3 April 2018, in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Juventus. Real Madrid won 3-0 in Turin, and Ronaldo scored twice, but only one goal is still talked about. In the 64th minute, Dani Carvajal crossed from the right, Ronaldo leapt with his back to goal and met the ball with a perfect overhead kick that left goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon motionless. The Juventus supporters inside their own stadium rose to applaud him, a reaction Ronaldo later said had never happened to him before in his career.
That single goal set the tone for everything that followed in 2018. It was voted among the nominees for UEFA's Goal of the Season, it became the image of that Champions League campaign, and, three months later, Ronaldo joined the very club whose fans had applauded him. The full story of the goal, the technique behind it and the two later overhead kicks of his career are covered in our deep-dive on Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick against Juventus.
Kyiv and the third straight European Cup
Real Madrid's run ended in Kyiv on 26 May 2018, when they beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium. Karim Benzema opened the scoring after a goalkeeping error, Sadio Mané equalised for Liverpool, and then substitute Gareth Bale scored twice, including his own acrobatic overhead kick, to settle the match. Ronaldo did not score in the final, but he had carried Madrid through the tournament: he finished as the competition's top scorer with 15 goals, and the victory made it three European Cups in a row under Zinedine Zidane.
It was also Ronaldo's fifth European Cup in total, and his fourth with Real Madrid. No player in the modern era had dominated the competition so completely, and the Kyiv final is best understood as the closing night of that dominance rather than just another trophy. Within weeks, the team that won it would lose both its coach, with Zidane departing, and its talisman. For the wider story of those Madrid years, see our history of Real Madrid.
The World Cup hat-trick against Spain
Less than three weeks after Kyiv, Ronaldo produced the defining individual performance of the 2018 World Cup. On 15 June 2018, in Sochi, Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain in their opening Group B match, and Ronaldo scored all three Portuguese goals. He converted a fourth-minute penalty, struck again just before half-time after a mistake by goalkeeper David de Gea, and then, with Spain leading 3-2, curled a free kick over the wall in the 88th minute to complete his hat-trick. At 33, he became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick, and he did it against the country where he had spent the previous nine years.
Portugal's tournament did not match that opening night. The team progressed from the group but went out in the round of 16, and Ronaldo never scored again in Russia after the Spain game. That contrast matters for an honest account of 2018: the hat-trick was a masterpiece, but it was also the peak of a short tournament run, not the start of a march to the final. For his full Portugal story, see our Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal profile.
The move to Juventus
On 10 July 2018, Real Madrid announced that Ronaldo would join Juventus. The Italian club confirmed a fee of 100 million euros, plus 12 million euros in additional costs, and a four-year contract running to 30 June 2022. He was presented in Turin on 16 July, ending nine seasons in Madrid in which he scored 450 goals in 438 appearances and became the club's all-time top scorer.
In his farewell letter, published on Real Madrid's website, Ronaldo wrote that his years in Madrid had possibly been the happiest of his life, but that the time had come to open a new stage. The wording mattered: this was not presented as a falling-out or a retirement move. At 33, he was joining the dominant team in Italy with the stated aim of winning there too, and Juventus were paying one of the largest fees ever for a player of his age because they believed he could still deliver in the Champions League. For the numbers behind the move, see our Cristiano Ronaldo career stats.
What 2018 did not contain
Two common errors deserve correction. First, Ronaldo did not win the Ballon d'Or in 2018: his fifth and most recent win had come in December 2017, and the 2018 award went elsewhere, breaking the run he had shared with Lionel Messi. Second, the bicycle kick is sometimes remembered as a Juventus goal because Ronaldo later played for Juventus; it was scored for Real Madrid, against Juventus, in Turin. Keeping those two facts straight is the difference between a good 2018 story and a muddled one.
It is also worth noting what 2018 was not. It was not a great league season by Madrid's standards, and Ronaldo's 26 LaLiga goals in 27 appearances that season came in a campaign where the title went elsewhere. The year's greatness rests on Europe and on one night in Sochi, not on domestic dominance. That is why 2018 feels both triumphant and transitional: the biggest nights were as big as any in his career, and they were also the last ones in white.
Why 2018 still matters
Ronaldo's 2018 works as a summary of his whole Madrid career because it contains every version of him: the Champions League predator, the free-kick specialist under maximum pressure, the showman capable of silencing and then winning over an away crowd, and the restless competitor who walked away from a comfortable throne to try again somewhere new. Later years added goals and records, including his prolific spell at Al Nassr, covered in our Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr guide, but none of them changed the shape of the story as completely as 2018 did. It was the year the Madrid era ended properly, with a trophy, a wonder goal and a farewell, rather than fading away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Cristiano Ronaldo achieve in 2018?
He won a third straight Champions League with Real Madrid, finished as the tournament's top scorer with 15 goals, scored a hat-trick for Portugal against Spain at the World Cup, and transferred to Juventus in July 2018.
When was Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick against Juventus?
On 3 April 2018, in Turin, in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Real Madrid won 3-0, and Ronaldo scored twice, including the 64th-minute overhead kick from a Dani Carvajal cross.
Who did Real Madrid beat in the 2018 Champions League final?
Liverpool, 3-1, in Kyiv on 26 May 2018. Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, with two goals, scored for Madrid, while Sadio Mané scored for Liverpool.
How many goals did Ronaldo score against Spain at the 2018 World Cup?
Three. He scored a fourth-minute penalty, a goal just before half-time and an 88th-minute free kick as Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain on 15 June 2018 in Sochi.
When did Cristiano Ronaldo join Juventus?
The transfer was announced on 10 July 2018, for a fee of 100 million euros plus 12 million euros in additional costs, on a four-year contract. He was presented in Turin on 16 July 2018.
How many goals did Ronaldo score for Real Madrid in total?
450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions, making him Real Madrid's all-time top scorer when he left in 2018.
