Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest strength has always been his scoring ability, but since joining Real Madrid, his league goal tally over the same period still falls just short of Lionel Messi’s. According to Spanish outlet Diario Sport, Ronaldo has scored 261 goals in La Liga, while Messi has netted 262 in the same timeframe. Given that Barcelona and Real Madrid have different cup match schedules, the comparison focuses solely on league matches, where the format is identical. Messi has scored his 262 goals in 243 appearances, while Ronaldo has 261 goals…

In the opening round of La Liga, Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 away win over Real Sociedad. Yet despite several absences among the regular starters in midfield and attack, one player’s mood was far from celebratory—James Rodríguez once again found himself stuck on the bench, only entering the game in the 78th minute. During the UEFA Super Cup earlier this season, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Luka Modrić, and Toni Kroos were all left out of the starting lineup. Even then, James was only given the third substitution…