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Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo scripted history by scoring his 900th career goal and becoming the first person to achieve the fe at. Ronaldo achieved the milestone during Portugal’s UEFA Nations League match against Croatia in Lisbon on Thursday. In the 39th minute of the game, Ronaldo converted a Nuno Mendes cross at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon to reach the landmark. The match saw Portugal defeating Croatia 2-1 in their first clash of the tournament.
The 39-year-old footballer was visibly emotional as he celebrated the goal and raised his hands to his face and dropped to his knees. Notably, Ronaldo’s 900th career goal was his 131st for the national side. With his 900 goals, Ronaldo is 58 goals ahead of his arch-rival Lionel Messi, who is on 842 goals. The third spot on the list has been occupied by Brazilian legend Pele with 765 goals.
It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time: Cristiano Ronaldo
After achieving the milestone, Ronaldo expressed his gratitude and said that he wanted to reach the milestone for a long time. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner also highlighted the challenges he has gone through to reach the landmark. He said, "It means a lot. 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 will happen naturally."
Ronaldo spoke about his celebration and said that it was emotional because only he and people near him know how hard he has worked for it. The Al-Nassr great added, "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."
Earlier in 2021, Ronaldo became the first footballer to break the 800-goal barrier. The footballer had earlier made clear that he has no intentions of slowing down anytime soon and is already aiming for his next goal milestone which is 1,000 goals.
