MADRID – Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently returned to Manchester United from Juventus, broke the world record for most goals scored in men’s international football.
The 36-year-old attacking midfielder achieved the feat by scoring twice against the Republic of Ireland in Portugal’s European Qualifier in Faro-Loulé on Wednesday.
🇵🇹 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗥 🇵🇹
Created. Earned. #MUFC | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/q6CVWipWVP
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 2, 2021
Europe’s top-scoring footballer clinched the title from former Iranian striker Ali Daei. Previously, Daei holds the title with 109 goals. The Manchester United forward has also equaled Sergio Ramos’ European record for men’s caps with his 180th Portugal appearance.
Speaking about the world record, he said “I’m very happy, not only because I beat the record but for the special moments that we had”. He also added, “Two goals at the end of the game were so tough, but I have to appreciate what the team did. We believed until the end.”
The Portuguese footballer, who rewrote the history books with the recent feat, is still 76 goals behind the game’s most prolific international scorer. Canada’s Christine Sinclair holds the record with 187 goals.
⚡ 𝟳𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱 ⚡
🐐 @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/h6eC6hSUkF
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 1, 2021
Furthermore, the star player is already the top scorer in club football’s top tournament, the European Cup/Champions League, a trophy he has bagged five times. He is also the top scorer in European Championship history (14) and in Euros and World Cups combined (21). Interestingly, around half of his goals have come in the final 30 minutes of games.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/28-Aug-2021/manchester-united-welcome-cristiano-ronaldo-back
International top scorers
111 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 180 appearances
109 Ali Daei (Iran) – 149 appearances
89 Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia) – 142 appearances
84 Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) – 85 appearances
79 Godfrey Chitalu (Zambia) – 111 appearances
78 Hussein Saeed (Iraq) – 137 appearances
77 Pelé (Brazil) – 92 appearances
76 Ali Mabkhout (United Arab Emirates) – 92 appearances
76 Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 151 appearances
75 Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 68 appearances
75 Kunishige Kamamoto (Japan) – 76 appearances
75 Bashar Abdullah (Kuwait) – 134 appearances
