Ronaldo: “Winning the European Championship with Portugal is like winning a World Cup”
With his 900th career goal, Cristiano Ronaldo prevailed against Luka Modrić in the Nations League duel of the veterans on Thursday.
Ronaldo, 39, became the first player to reach 900 goals in official matches for club and country by scoring in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Modric’s Croatia.
“It means a lot to me,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number because if I keep playing it will happen naturally.”
Ronaldo scored the 34th-minute goal to give Portugal a 2-1 lead at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. He put his hands on his head and fell to his knees during the celebrations.
“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said. “It seems like any other milestone, but only I and the people around me know how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and mentally fit to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”
It was Ronaldo’s 131st international goal of his career.
He had previously produced a disappointing performance at the European Championships, failing to score in all five of Portugal’s matches before the team was knocked out by France on penalties in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo could try to play into his 40s and compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Portugal, but he said on Thursday that was not a priority for him.
“Portugal’s European Championship victory is like winning the World Cup,” said Ronaldo. “I have already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. That is not what motivates me. I am motivated by the joy of playing football and the records come naturally.”
Ronaldo’s career rival Lionel Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Cristiano Ronaldo
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FIFA Men’s World Cup
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