Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men’s player in history to score 900 goals in official matches, reaching his latest milestone in Portugal’s UEFA Nations League match against Croatia in Lisbon on Thursday.
Ronaldo secured the historic goal with a volley from 6 yards off a cross from Nuno Mendes to put Portugal 2-0 up in the 34th minute. Portugal went on to win 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.”
In the celebration, Ronaldo raised his hands to his face and dropped to his knees.
“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.”
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is 58 goals ahead of his nearest challenger, Lionel Messi, who is on 842. Brazilian legend Pelé is third on the list with 765.
Ronaldo was also the first to break the 800-goal barrier, doing so in late 2021 while in his second stint with Manchester United.
The Portugal captain’s 131 international goals in 209 appearances is also the most all time. Messi is again second behind Ronaldo on that list; he and former Iran forward Ali Daei both have 109 goals.
As well as Al Nassr and Man United, Ronaldo also has divided his 769 club goals among Sporting CP, Real Madrid and Juventus.
The 39-year-old has made clear that he has no intention of slowing down any time soon and recently said he is already targeting his next goal milestone.
“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.”
Ever competitive, Ronaldo was quick to point out what would set his goals apart from those by other all-time great scorers, including legends such as Pelé and Alfredo Di Stéfano, who played in eras when cameras weren’t as prevalent.
“All the goals I have scored, they have video,” he said. “They all have video. Listen, I respect all of them [Pelé and Di Stéfano]. 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.”
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
