1 day ago
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1,061 games
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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his 41st birthday in February, but the Portuguese icon is still hungry for goals after joining the 800 club, beating Lionel Messi to the punch. Fresh from scoring on international duty with Portugal, where he earned his 225th cap and found the net for the 143rd time, the striker turned out for Al-Nassr and he picked up where he left off. Making his 1,061th club appearance, Ronaldo scored his 800th goal in a 5-1 drubbing of Al Fateh.
He's clearly enjoying life alongside his compatriot João Félix, who has enjoyed a storming start to life in Saudi Arabia with eight goals in his first five Pro League appearances. Felix bagged himself a hat-trick in that convincing win, but Ronaldo's remarkable achievement snatched the spotlight. His next goal for Al-Nassr will be also the 100th he has struck for the club. In doing so, Ronaldo would become the first player in history to reach a century with four different teams, according to Transfermarkt data.
Early beginnings: Sporting and Man Utd
He started his illustrious career in his native Portugal with Sporting CP, where he made 31 appearances and scored five goals as a teenager. He caught the eye of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson in 2002 and a year later, the Scot pushed through a €19 million transfer. The rest, as the old adage goes, is history. Ronaldo lit up the Premier League with dazzling tricks and skills, but soon became a menace in front of goal too. He left the Red Devils in 2009 to complete a world-record €117 million switch to Real Madrid having registered 145 goals in 346 games, scoring 42 in one season at Old Trafford.
World-record move to Real Madrid In Spain, Ronaldo elevated his game to an entirely new level. Motivated by his rivalry with Barcelona legend Messi, Ronaldo hit a staggering 450 goals in 438 outings for the LaLiga giants - equating to more than a goal a game. While Madrid didn't necessarily live up to their potential, Ronaldo's thirst for goals and global status helped him win five Ballon d'Or awards. He remains the all-time record goalscorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League and holds the crown for most goals scored in a single campaign (17), which he secured during Real's Champions League-winning campaign in 2015/16. And even though they play in different leagues - Messi is contracted to MLS outfit Inter Miami - the rivalry lives on. Messi scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Nashville, but with 781 goals is still adrift of Ronaldo's tally.
Juventus century, Al-Nassr next
Another high-profile switch to Juventus followed in 2018, bringing an end to his nine-year spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, and there he led the Bianconeri to two Serie A titles in three seasons with 101 goals from 134 games. Since arriving in Riyadh in December 2022, Ronaldo has found the net on a consistent basis with 99 in his 112 appearances to date. The €12m-valued frontman is under contract until 2027 after penning a new mega contract to stay in the Arabian Gulf, and few doubt there will be many more goals to come as Ronaldo closes in his ultimate ambition: reaching 1,000.
