Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first men’s player to score 900 career goals in official matches for club and country, achieving this milestone in Portugal’s UEFA Nations League 2-1 win against Croatia on Thursday.
The 39-year-old scored a volley from 6 yards out, securing a 2-0 lead for Portugal.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, now leads his nearest challenger, Lionel Messi, by 58 goals.
Messi has scored 842 goals, while Brazilian legend Pelé ranks third with 765 goals.
Cristiano reflected on his achievement saying: “900 goals seem like any other milestone, but only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.”
He added: “It’s a unique milestone in my career. I don’t break records… they haunt me!”
Ronaldo also emphasized that his motivation comes from enjoying football saying: “I’m motivated by enjoying football and the records come naturally.”
Addressing those who may doubt his achievements, Ronaldo highlighted the significance of his goals being documented on video.
“All the goals I have scored they have video. They all have videos. Listen, I respect all of them [Pelé and Di Stefano]. And if you want more goals, I can bring them from training, too. And I will prove to the people after. They prefer this player, or this is the best one. I don’t care about that.”
This latest achievement adds to Ronaldo’s impressive record, which includes being the first player to break the 800-goal barrier and holding the most international goals with 131 in 209 appearances.
