Ronaldo Makes History, Becomes First Player To Score 900 Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first male footballer to score 900 goals in official matches. 

He reached this record during Portugal’s UEFA Nations League match against Croatia in Lisbon on Thursday.

Ronaldo’s landmark goal came in the 34th minute, when he converted a volley from 6 yards off a cross delivered by Nuno Mendes, giving Portugal a 2-0 lead. Portugal ultimately secured a 2-1 victory.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now 58 goals ahead of his closest competitor, Lionel Messi, who has scored 842 goals.

Brazilian icon Pelé ranks third with 765 goals.

Ronaldo had previously been the first to surpass the 800-goal mark in late 2021 during his second tenure with Manchester United.

Ronaldo also holds the record for the most international goals, having netted 131 times in 209 appearances for Portugal.

Messi and former Iran striker Ali Daei are tied for second place with 109 international goals each.

Throughout his illustrious career, Ronaldo has accumulated his 769 club goals across various teams, including Sporting CP, Real Madrid, Juventus, and currently, Al Nassr, in addition to Manchester United.

At 39, Ronaldo has made it clear that he has no intention of slowing down.

He recently expressed his ambition to reach 1,000 goals. In an interview with his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand on YouTube, Ronaldo projected that he could achieve this milestone by the age of 41, provided he remains injury-free.

Ronaldo emphasized that his goals are documented with video evidence, setting them apart from those of previous legends such as Pelé and Alfredo Di Stefano, who played in eras with less comprehensive recording. He stated,

“All the goals I have scored, they have video. They all have video. 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.”