Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first man in history to score 900 goals in official competitions, accomplishing the feat during Portugal’s UEFA Nations League encounter against Croatia in Lisbon on Thursday.
Ronaldo secured the historic goal with a volley from 6 yards off a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute, putting Portugal ahead 2-0. Portugal went on to win 2-1.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is 58 goals ahead of his nearest opponent, Lionel Messi, who has 842. Pelé, a Brazilian great, ranks third on the list with 765.
The 39-year-old was also the first to reach the 800-goal mark, doing it in late 2021 during his second tenure with Manchester United.
Portugal’s captain has also scored the most international goals in history, with 131 in 209 appearances. Messi is once again second on that list, trailing Ronaldo; he and former Iran attacker Ali Daei with 109 goals each.
In addition to Al Nassr and Manchester United, Ronaldo has scored 769 goals for Sporting CP, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
Ronaldo has made it apparent that he has no plans to slow down anytime soon, and he recently stated that he is already working towards his next objective milestone.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals,” he disclosed to his ex-Man United teammate Rio Ferdinand during his YouTube show, predicting that the historical record will occur around the age of 41.
Ever viable, Ronaldo was keen to point out what distinguished his goals from those of other all-time scorers, including luminaries such as Pele and Alfredo Di Stefano, who played in a time when cameras were not as standard.
“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,” he added.
