Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or award winner, yet again achieved another remarkable feat in his illustrious career. The 39-year-old became the first player in the history of football to score 900 career goals. He achieved the milestone during Portugal’s home game against Croatia in the ongoing Nations League on Thursday.
Another feather in the cap for Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo’s historic goal came off a volley from 6 yards from a cross from teammate Nuno Mendes which gave Portugal 2-0 lead in the 34th minute. Portugal eventually won the game 2-1.
“It means a lot,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally.”
The Portuguese football star is the all-time leading goal scorer in international football with 131 goals in 209 appearances for Portugal.
“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said. “It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has 131 international goals, 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 101 for Juventus and 68 for his current club Al Nassr. He has five goals from his first club Sporting Lisbon.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi is behind him as the second all-time goal scorer in football history with 859 career goals.
It is to be noted that Ronaldo was also the first player to reach the 800-goal mark, a feat he achieved in 2021 during his second spell with Manchester United.
Ronaldo’s latest achievement comes just days after he received a special award from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for being the all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with 141 goals.
On his newly launched YouTube channel, Ronaldo has expressed his hunger for more goals.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals. If I don’t have any injuries, this for me is the most important (thing), I want that. For me, the best mark that I can have in football is to reach, first, 900 goals. After, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals.”
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With the determination and perseverance that Ronaldo has displayed in his glorious career, he might be on his way to realizing the dream.
