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Gary Lineker Breaks Down 'Mind-Blowing' Numbers Behind Cristiano Ronaldo Goal Record

Gary Lineker Breaks Down 'Mind-Blowing' Numbers Behind Cristiano Ronaldo Goal Record

Juventus ace has surpassed Pele on all-time scoring charts and Lineker has given a unique take on his achievement.

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed Brazilian icon Pele's official goal tally - and Gary Lineker has shared a "mind-blowing" breakdown of CR7's achievement.

The 35-year-old netted twice in Juventus's 4-1 win over Udinese bringing his club and country total to 758 goals, one above Pele's total (excluding friendlies and exhibitions).

And England's 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner Lineker - no stranger to the goal net - gave a unique statistical breakdown of just what Ronaldo has achieved over time.

"So Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Pele's record for career goals with his 758th strike," Lineker tweeted. "That's about 42 goals a season for 18 years. Mind-blowing."

It really puts into perspective what any future player will need to do to match Ronaldo's amazing scoring feats.

It's also particularly accurate as Ronaldo made his debut for Sporting CP in October 2002; so just over 18 years ago. In other words, 42 goals a season for 18 years is roughly his current rate. Stunning stuff.

Only Slavia Prague legend Josef Bican sits above Ronaldo in terms of total highest-level goals. The Austrian-Czech striker scored 805 goals in 530 official matches between 1931 and 1955.

But if Ronaldo can keep up his current remarkable scoring rate, he should be able to catch and surpass Bican in early 2022.

Ronaldo's goals record breaks down as 102 for Portugal and 656 for his club sides (five for Sporting CP, 118 for Manchester United, 450 for Real Madrid, 83 for Juventus).

He is also the all-time Champions League top scorer with 132 goals, ahead of Lionel Messi with 118.

What Lineker's tweet highlights is not just Ronaldo's incredible scoring ratio but also his consistency. Apart from a few niggling injury issues when he first joined Real Madrid for £80 million in 2009, he's largely been fit and available.

In the last 10 completed seasons, Ronaldo has played in at least 40 club games - not to mention all of his appearances for Portugal.

So the bar for the next generation is clear: average 42 goals a season for the next 18 years and you will come close to Ronaldo's record.

Will we ever see any player - other than his eternal rival Messi - come close to these numbers again? Let us know in the comments.

Featured image credit: PA Images/BT Sport

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Topics: Gary Lineker, Football News, Football, Portugal, Juventus, Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo