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Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated the 1200th professional match of his career with a goal and an assist. Ronaldo guided his side Al-Nassr to record a 4-1 win over Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League 2023-24 on Friday, December 8. With the game, Ronaldo moved closer to the record of Peter Shilton who leads the list of male players with most official appearances.
The former Real Madrid player scored shortly after the opening of the game after he tapped in a cross from Sadio Mane. Earlier, Mane had had a goal disallowed in the first minute into the game. The game also saw Ronaldo becoming the league’s top scorer with 16 goals from 16 matches as it helped Al-Nassr bounce back from a 0-3 loss against the table toppers Al-Hilal last week.
Watch Ronaldo's opener against Al-Riyadh:
Watch Ronaldo's assist:
The 38-year-old football marked his 1,000th senior appearance with a goal for his side Juventus in Serie A in February 2020. In June, Ronaldo became the first player to make 200 international appearances in Portugal’s match against Iceland and he is also the top scorer with 128 goals. The Portugal captain became the first player in history to score 800 top-level career goals when he surpassed that total playing for Manchester United in December 2021.
Ronaldo thanks teammates after historic achievement
Ronaldo took to Instagram and wrote, "Three more points! Thankful to all my teammates who helped me reach my 1,200th match. What a ride, but we're not done yet."
Notably, former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton is regarded for the highest number of professional matches in men’s football with 1,387. Saudi Pro League took on social media to confirm Ronaldo’s milestone. The statement read, "Cristiano Ronaldo has now played in 1,200 professional matches."
Notably, Ronaldo is just one goal shy of becoming the join-highest scorer in 2023. The Portuguese legend has scored 49 goals for his club and country this year and is just one goal behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland (50).
