Cristiano Ronaldo is already 39 years old – and still not tired. At the start of the Nations League, the exceptional striker cracked the magical mark of 900 goals.
Pure joy: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating a goal. IMAGO/Pixsell
Portugal started the new Nations League with a 2-1 win against Croatia – one of the goals was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, who volleyed a cross from Nuno Mendes into the net against the direction of goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic in classic goal-scoring style (34′). It was his 131st goal for the national team and his 900th goal in his career.
You could see how much the goal meant to him when he celebrated. After his 2-0 goal, Cristiano Ronaldo ran to the corner flag, sank to the ground and knelt with his hands in front of his head. It looked as if he had shed a tear or two of joy. The attacker, who is now spending the autumn of his career in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, made no secret of the fact that it had affected him emotionally.
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“It means a lot to me”
“It means a lot to me because it was a unique milestone in my career,” he said after the final whistle, pointing out that only he and the people around him know how difficult it is “to work hard every day, to be in good physical and mental shape to score that 900th goal.”
Cristiano Ronaldo also revealed that this was a number “I’ve wanted to reach for a long time”, but at the same time, with his usual confidence, said that he knew he would reach this mark because it was simply a natural thing “if I keep playing”. Cristiano Ronaldo also revealed that this was a number “I’ve wanted to reach for a long time”, but at the same time, with his usual confidence, said that he knew he would reach this mark because it was simply a natural thing “if I keep playing”.
Winning the European Championship with Portugal is equivalent to winning the World Cup.
Ergo, records are just a logical consequence. “Records come by themselves,” said CR7: “I don’t break records. Records are what haunt me.” Nevertheless, he is happy about it, but for him the team is more important – and that was shown well against Croatia. “After what we did at the European Championship, we had to make a good impression and we did that,” said the five-time world footballer and revealed what drives him in the Selecao: “Winning the European Championship with Portugal is equivalent to winning the World Cup. I have already won two trophies with Portugal (European Championship 2016, Nations League 2018/19, ed.) and any more would be spectacular. That motivates me, I want to enjoy football – every moment.”
