Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo gets overwhelmed with emotions after scoring 900th goal of his career during Nations League clash against Croatia

Cristiano Ronaldo got emotional while celebrating his 900th career goal. Ronaldo said that it meant so much for him as he puts in a lot of hard work to keep himself fit despite being 39 years old.

SportsTak Desk

• Fri • 06 Sep 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo gets emotional after scoring 900th goal of his career (Getty Images)

Highlights:

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal for Portugal against Croatia.

Ronaldo said that achieving the milestone of 900 goals means a lot to him.

Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo achieved a massive feat during the UEFA Nations League match against Croatia on September 5. Ronaldo scored the second goal in Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia in Lisbon.

Ronaldo achieved the milestone in the 34th minute of the clash. He got the perfect cross from Nuno Mendes inside the box. Ronaldo hit it to the right of goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. After scoring the goal he ran towards the corner. Overwhelmed with emotions, he got down on his knees as his teammates congratulated him for the remarkable feat.

“It means a lot," Ronaldo said after Portugal's 2-1 win. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally.”

“It was emotional because it’s a milestone. It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career,” the 39-year-old added.

Earlier in the game, Diogo Dalot opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Bruno Fernades's pass found Dalot who netted one past the goalkeeper. However, in the 41st minute, Dalot deflected a shot from Borna Sosa that led to an own goal. No goals were scored in the second half as Portugal won 2-1.

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Breakdown of goals Ronaldo has scored

Out of his 900 goals, 131 have been scored for Portugal. The Real Madrid legend scored 450 goals for the Spanish club. For Manchester United where he rose through the ranks, he scored 145 goals. Representing Italian Club Juventus, he scored 101 goals. For his first club Sporting Lisbon, he scored five goals. For the Saudi Club Al Nassr which is expected to be the last club he plays football for, he has scored 68 goals.

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Who is closest to Ronaldo’s tally of goals?

Argentina's Lionel Messi is second on the list. He has scored a total of 859 goals. He missed the clash against Chile due to injury. The FIFA World Cup 2022-winning captain Messi's current club is Major League Soccer's (MLS) Inter Miami.