Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Portugal, Real Madrid, Manchester United
Alex Brotherton
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Portugal, Real Madrid, Manchester United
A ridiculous stat has emerged after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a record-breaking goal for Portugal on Thursday.
On Thursday (September 5), Portugal hosted Croatia in the opening game of their UEFA Nations League campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo is always the centre of attention when he plays, but this time all eyes were fixed firmly on him.
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Portugal won 2-1, with Ronaldo making history when he put his side 2-0 up in the 34th minute.
The 39-year-old side-footed home Nuno Mendes' cross from close-range, not only doubling Portugal's lead but taking him to 900 career goals.
Though there is no official database for the all-time leading scorer in men's football, Ronaldo appears to be the first male player to score 900 goals in official matches.
Brazil legends Pele and Romario both claimed to score more than 1,000 goals each, but when friendlies are excluded from the equation both likely hit the 700s in official games.
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Statisticians RSSSF claim that Pele scored 778 goals in official matches, while Romario scored 785.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has scored 867 career goals to date.
However, a different stat shared on social media is even more mind-blowing.
As shared by TNT Sports, Ronaldo has scored 437 goals since he turned 30 years old back in 2015. Remarkable, that's more goals than Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry, and Wayne Rooney scored across their entire careers.
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![Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 900th goal of his career on Thursday. [Getty]](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=webp&quality=70&width=3840&fit=contain&gravity=auto&url=https://images.ladbiblegroup.com/v3/assets/blta90d05ad41a54a71/blt6d6deb8440508e67/66daa50cfefbcacf1294ba93/GettyImages-2170413805.jpg)
Ronaldo's strike against Croatia was the 131st goal for his country, further extending his lead at the top of the team's leading scorers list.
Exactly half (450) of his career goals came in a Real Madrid shirt, while he scored 145 across two spells at Manchester United.
At Juventus Ronaldo scored 101 times, while he has already bagged 68 goals in less than two years at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.
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The forward scored five goals for his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, with the first goal of his career coming in October 2002 when he was 17 years old.