Nike renovates a football pitch in Portugal to celebrate Ronaldo’s world record

On Thursday (September 2), Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo became the leading international goal scorer after scoring a brace against Ireland. He overtook Iran's Ali Daei with his 110th goal.

The game summed up the mad couple of weeks in the Portuguese legend’s career. It started with the buzz of his departure from Italian club Juventus, his flirtations with Manchester City, and reached a crescendo when it was announced that he would return to Manchester United (City’s rival).

Nike, the leading US sportswear giant that Ronaldo endorses, renovated a pitch in the Funchal community of Madeira, Portugal, where he spent some of his childhood years.

Designed by Portuguese artist Pedro Campiche, better known as AkaCorleone, the pitch is set at the local community centre. The goal’s crossbars give an illustrated timeline of Ronaldo’s career in 15 scenes. They depict the places that shaped him, the in-game moments that immortalised him, and the accolades that keep stacking up, said Nike on its website.

Further recognising Ronaldo’s influence among his peers, is a commemorative CR110 boot. It is given to 110 rising stars in the primary countries where Ronaldo has played: Portugal, England, Spain and Italy. The shoe's design indicates his record-breaking spree.

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam is behind this campaign. It also includes a short film, where various footballers, in a voice-over, marvel at Ronaldo's passion, work ethic and domination of the game.