‘I don’t follow the records, the records follow me.’
The Portuguese forward scripted more of his own by becoming the first men’s player in football history to score 900 goals in official matches.
Ronaldo reached the milestone by scoring his 131st goal for his beloved Portugal in their UEFA Nations League encounter against Croatia, which Portugal won 2-1.
After failing to score in the last five outings for Portugal, the 39-year-old would finally convert off a cross from Nuno Mendes, as he sent a thumping volley into the back of the net to reach his milestone.
9️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ golos para o melhor da história do futebol ⚽️#sporttvportugal #FUTEBOLnaSPORTTV #LigadasNações #Portugal #Croácia #CristianoRonaldo pic.twitter.com/DSo6xrgDKI— sport tv (@sporttvportugal) September 5, 2024
In the celebration, Ronaldo raised his hands to his face and dropped to his knees.
“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.”
“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.”
I dreamed of this, and I have more dreams. Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/2SS3ZoG2Gl— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 5, 2024
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid forward also holds the record for the most international goals, having scored 131 goals in his 209 appearances for Portugal.
He has also netted 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 101 for Juventus and 68 for his current club Al Nassr as well as five for his first club Sporting Lisbon.
The current Al Nassr forward was also the first to reach the 800-goal mark and is currently 58 goals ahead of his rival Lionel Messi, who is on 842 goals, as the Portuguese eyes a staggering 1000 goals before the end of his career.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals,” he told his former Man United teammate Rio Ferdinand for his YouTube channel, estimating that the historic mark could come around the age of 41. “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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