At Real Madrid, he came to appear more machine than man, his 450 goals coming in 438 games. All players love to score. Few can claim to have the affection reciprocated.
The England international took his tally to 10 in as many games after netting twice to help Madrid rout Osasuna 4-0 and keep the Spanish league lead. That was the best scoring start for a new Madrid player since Ronaldo also scored 10 in his first 10 games after his 2009 transfer from Manchester United.