Cristiano Ronaldo made history during Portugal’s UEFA Nations League match against Croatia on Thursday as the 39-year-old forward became the first man to score 900 goals in official matches with his striker from close range in the 34th minute. Assisted by Nuno Mendes, it was a landmark goal that put Ronaldo 58 goals ahead of Lionel Messi for the most goals all time by any male player.
Ronaldo’s 800th goal came in late 2021 and now three years later, he’s adding his 900th to the list. Ronaldo also now has 131 goals for Portugal in international play which is also the most all-time for a national team ahead of Messi. Ronaldo has gotten off to a good start for Al-Nassr this season scoring two goals and assisting one more in league play as he looks to follow up a stellar season where he scored 35 goals and assisted 11 more.
Despite Messi being two years younger than Ronaldo, the Portuguese legend is going to be hard to catch if he keeps up his current scoring rates. Messi has been sidelined for Inter Miami since picking up an ankle injury during the Copa America in July for Argentina. With only seven matches remaining in the regular season for the Herons, Messi won’t be able to cut much out of Ronaldo’s current lead unless he goes on a crazy goal-scoring run.
After winning the 2016 European Championship and 2018-19 Nations League, Ronaldo still seeks more success with the national team and hasn’t ruled out playing in the 2026 World Cup. If he continues, perhaps the 1,000 goal mark will be in reach.
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