Cristiano Ronaldo Joins 700 Goal Club
Cristiano Ronaldo Joins 700 Goal Club! Cristiano Ronaldo reached a career landmark and huge milestone by scoring his 700th career goal in Portugal’s Euro 2020 qualifier at Ukraine.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored his septuple century for club and country by converting a second-half penalty clinically in Kiev. The prolific Portuguese forward attained his huge milestone of 700 goals from 973 matches.
The 34-year-old lethal forward has scored more career goals than any other active player in professional football, edging the 672 amassed by his former La Liga adversary Lionel Messi.
He now has bragging rights in the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) debate with Lionel Messi, though the Argentine forward who is hot on the heels having played fewer matches still remains in the equation.
Juventus forward Ronaldo now sits sixth in the all-time top men’s goalscorers list in football history. Next on the list is Brazil legend Romario, who bagged 772, while his compatriot Pele is third on 767.
Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas hit 746 goals, while former Germany striker Gerd Muller rounds out the top five with 735 goals.
Incredibly, Ronaldo has scored in excess of 50 goals for eight successive seasons between 2010/11 and 2017/18.
The bulk of Ronaldo’s goals came in the Spanish capital for Real Madrid with 450 goals being scored over the course of nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2009 and 2018.
Now he will have his sights set on a new landmark – the all time international goal-scoring record.
The 34-year-old now has 95 goals for his national side after 162 caps, but the record for most goals at international level belongs to former Iran forward Ali Daei, who scored 109 times for his country.
Ronaldo is still in superb physical condition at the age of 34 and it might not be far-fetched and beyond the realms of possibility that he may end up surpassing the 800-goal mark before he retires.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Sensational 700 Goals
Sporting Lisbon (2002-2003): Five goals in 31 appearances
Manchester United (2003-2009): 118 goals in 292 appearances
Real Madrid (2009-2018): 450 goals in 438 appearances
Juventus (2018-PRESENT): 32 goals in 51 appearances
Portugal (2003-PRESENT): 95 in 162 appearances
Ronaldo reaching 700 goals had fans engaged in debate over who is the “real” GOAT with Ronaldo and Messi fans having a go at each other in an interesting social media spectacle over who eclipses the other between the two footballing greats who have dazzled us for the past decade.
By Gerald Dandah
