Cristiano Ronaldo: CR7 gets his own galaxy

The Real Madrid star has had the honor bestowed on him by the European Southern Observatory (ESO.)

An astronomical research organization made up of 16 nations, the ESO described the newly-christened CR7 galaxy as "by far the brightest galaxy yet found in the early Universe."

CR7, as well as being a moniker associated with the Portugal national team captain, is an abbreviation of COSMOS Redshift 7.

The name refers to the galaxy's age. The higher the redshift, the further back in the history of the universe the galaxy is being seen from.

The galaxy will share the CR7 name with a line of underwear endorsed by Ronaldo, who even has his very own museum.

While the stars which share his name shine bright, Real endured a less-than-stellar season.

Despite Ronaldo scoring 48 goals, Real missed out on the league title to Barcelona.

Led by Ronaldo's archrival Lionel Messi, Barca clinched the Spanish league and cup double before lifting the European Champions League trophy.

It begs the question; if Ronaldo has a galaxy, what next for Messi?

A planet, perhaps?

(CNN)