Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo notched the 900th goal of his illustrious career to become the first footballer in history to reach this milestone, Afrosport reports.
The Al-Nassr forward achieved this feat by scoring Portugalβs second goal in their UEFA Nations League opener against Croatia on Thursday.
π΅π¬π¬π ππ₯ππ¦π§πππ‘π’ π₯π’π‘ππππ’ ππ΅πΉ E o melhor? A histΓ³ria ainda nΓ£o acabouβ¦ π«‘οΈ #PartilhaAPaixΓ£o | #CR900 pic.twitter.com/8HHjttwj4D
β Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 5, 2024
Ronaldo, who was omitted from the Ballon d’Or nominees shortlist released the previous day, got on the end of an inviting cross from left-back Nuno Mendes, latching a volley past Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic and into the back of the net.
The 39-year-old, visibly emotional after achieving yet another milestone, knelt on the ground inside Benfica’s Estadio de Luz before putting his head in his hands as several paparazzi lined up to capture the moment.
The Madeira-born football star took his international tally with Portugal to 131 goals, with the 769 others coming at club level, where he has so far donned the jersey of five different clubs.
#900goals β½οΈ
A testament to greatness that only Ronaldo can deliver π
The GOAT keeps growing π pic.twitter.com/3oeJndgHMfβ AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) September 5, 2024
The Portuguese star began his career with Sporting Lisbon, impressing in the team’s youth setup before quickly moving up to the senior team. At Sporting, he made his senior debut in September 2002 in the Primeira Liga and the left the club after scoring five goals.
Shortly after, he joined Manchester United, where he had two stints and scored 145 goals for the Red Devils.
He took his talent to the Santiago Bernabeu to play for Real Madrid. It was with Los Blancos that Ronaldo established himself among the all-time greats, finishing with 450 goals during his nine-year career.
Ronaldo added 101 more goals to his tally at Juventus, and since moving to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr, he has scored a further 68.
