Ronaldo becomes first player to win Europe’s top 3 leagues

(AP)

The breakthrough under Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Then the coronation at Real Madrid. And now another title at Juventus.

If ever there were a need to emphasize Cristiano Ronaldo's impact as a footballer, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner did it again this weekend by helping Juventus to the Serie A title in his first season in Italy.

In doing so, the 34-year-old Ronaldo became the first player in history to win league titles in the English Premier League (with United), the Spanish league (Madrid) and Serie A (Juventus).

"I'm very happy to have won in England, Spain and now the league title in Italy, as well," Ronaldo said. "It meant a lot to me and it means a lot to us as a team."

Other players have won titles in three of the five major European leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France), but nobody had previously put together the combination of England, Spain and Italy.

David Beckham played in four of the top leagues, but only won titles at United (six), Madrid (one) and Paris Saint-Germain (one), having failed to lift the Serie A trophy during his two loan spells at AC Milan.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic won four Serie A titles (three with Inter Milan and one with AC Milan), the Spanish league with Barcelona and four French championships with PSG.

Brazil fullback Maxwell was on many of those same teams as Ibrahimovic and also won in Italy, Spain and France.

Then there was Arjen Robben, who won the Premier League twice with Chelsea before adding a Spanish title at Real Madrid and seven Bundesliga trophies at Bayern Munich.

Another Dutchman who achieved the feat was Mark van Bommel, with titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich (two) and AC Milan.

While Juventus also won the league in the seven seasons before Ronaldo's arrival, there was no doubting his impact in Turin. With 19 goals and six assists in 27 Italian league matches this season, Ronaldo played a part in nearly 40 per cent of Juventus' goals.

So it came as no surprise when his dangerous cross from a sharp angle was redirected in by a defender as an own-goal for the winner in Juve's 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Saturday -- giving the Bianconeri more than the single point they needed to secure a record-extending eighth straight title with five rounds remaining.

It's the sixth league title of Ronaldo's career.