The 39-year-old forward netted a crucial goal for Portugal in their Nations League clash against Croatia, pushing the scoreline to 2-0.
This sparked a deeply emotional response from the player, who collapsed to his knees near the corner flag, overcome with tears.
This was Ronaldo’s 131st international goal, adding to his immense career tally across several top clubs, including Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and now Al-Nassr. His enduring legacy is underscored by the fact that someone born when he scored his first professional goal would now be 21 years old.
His debut brace for Sporting came on October 7, 2002, when he was just 17 years, eight months, and three days old, sealing a 3-0 victory over Moreirense.
Ronaldo's next chapter saw him join Manchester United, where he notched 118 goals in 293 appearances before his record-breaking €94m (£80m) transfer to Real Madrid in 2009.
During his nine-year stint with the Spanish juggernaut, Ronaldo bagged an astonishing 450 goals in just 438 matches. His journey then took him to Italy, where he added 101 more goals to his tally over three years with Juventus, before a return to Manchester United, where he netted 27 goals in 54 games.
However, the fairy-tale reunion with the Red Devils did not culminate as expected, and in 2023, Ronaldo made the move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where his goal tally continues to rise, currently at 68.
Though no definitive database exists to crown football’s all-time top scorer, Ronaldo has led the pack in high-level official matches, having surpassed the 800-goal milestone during his second stint at Manchester United.
While Brazilian icons Pele and Romario both claimed to have surpassed the 1,000-goal mark, discounting friendlies reduces their figures to the 700s.
According to unofficial sources such as RSSSF, Pele netted 778 goals, while Romario reached 785.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s perennial rival, has thus far amassed 867 goals in his storied career.
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