Cristiano Ronaldo Achieves Milestone as First Men's Player to Reach 900 Career Goals

‘I don’t follow the records, the records follow me.’ - CR7

The Portuguese forward made history by becoming the first men's player in football to score 900 official goals. Ronaldo reached a wonderful milestone with his 131st goal for Portugal in their 2-1 UEFA Nations League win over Croatia.

After a five-match goal drought for Portugal, the 39-year-old ultimately broke through with a stunning volley off a cross from Nuno Mendes, sending the ball into the net to obtain his milestone. In his celebration, Ronaldo raised his hands to his face and dropped to his knees.

“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 will happen naturally.”

“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 former Real Madrid and Real Madrid Manchester United Forward also holds the record for the most international goals, having scored 131 in 209 appearances for Portugal. Additionally, he has netted 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 101 for Juventus, 68 for his current club Al Nassr, and five for his first club Sporting Lisbon.

The current Al Nassr forward was the first to achieve 800 career goals and now leads his rival Lionel Messi by 58 goals, with Messi currently at 842. The Portuguese star is aiming to reach an impressive 1,000 goals before retiring.

“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.”