Portugal once again had Cristiano Ronaldo to thank on Wednesday night, as his brace in the 2-2 draw with France saw them progress to the last 16 of the European Championship. It was yet another historic night for Ronaldo, as his double saw him draw level with Ali Daei as the joint-highest goalscorer in international football, with 109 goals, and it looks to be only a matter of time before he becomes the outright record holder for international goals.
This feat is another example of how, statistically speaking, the Portuguese forward is the best goalscorer of all time.
This summer, Ronaldo has become the leading scorer in the history of the European Championship with 14 strikes in total, surpassing Michel Platini’s total of nine whilst also leading the Euro 2020 Golden Boot race with five goals.
However, his records are not confined to the international football, as he also leads in key standings throughout the club game. He is the top scorer in the history of the Champions League with 134 goals, placing him 14 goals in front of closest challenger Lionel Messi on 120 strikes. No one has scored more goals than Ronaldo in the five major leagues in Europe, with 479 goals scored across Portugal, England, Spain and Italy.
At Real Madrid, his goalscoring feats surpass Raul Gonzalez and Alfredo Di Stefano to place him as the leading goalscorer in the club’s history with 451 goals in 438 matches.
Most significantly, he is the top scorer in football history, with 738 goals in 1,073 matches, surpassing goalscoring greats Pele and Josef Biscan.
Daei was among the first to congratulate the evergreen 36-year-old.
“I am honoured that this remarkable achievement will belong to Ronaldo,” he wrote on Instagram.
Daei, nicknamed the ‘Shariar’ (King in Persian), scored a remarkable 109 goals in 149 appearances for Iran between 1993 and 2006, an achievement many thought would never be matched.
Ronaldo didn’t speak much after the game, where he also took sole possession of the record of most goals at Euros and World Cups with 21 strikes, breaking a tie with Germany’s Miroslav Klose who has 19. But on Instagram, he thanked Daei for the message: “The true champions are champions forever. I’m very proud to read such kind words from a big idol like you. Thank you, Ali Daei.”
Ronaldo and Portugal will have a difficult task against world-ranking leaders Belgium as they try to defend their European title.
After qualifying as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group stage, the striker asked Portuguese fans to “keep believing as much as we do.”
Ronaldo was praised by fans and sports media around the world. The Argentinian newspaper Ole said, “the Ronaldo myth keeps growing” and Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport called the Juventus forward the “new emperor” of international football.
Brazilian sports portal GloboEsporte.com said “Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t let time prevail over talent” after equalling the record and also taking over as sole top scorer at Euro 2020 with five goals.
Daouda Peeters has revealed some of the secrets that have allowed Cristiano to go on and become one of the best players in the world, with one relating to the Portugal star’s diet.
“He always eats the same thing: broccoli, chicken and rice,” Peeters told HLN.
“Litres of water, no Coca-Cola. Cristiano wants to win always and everywhere. He makes young players grow. He really involves you.”
The Belgian U21 international also highlighted how much Ronaldo takes care of himself throughout the season.
“He does not do those abdominal exercises out of vanity, but because he sees his body as an instrument for work,” Peeters continued.
“It is not the case that Cristiano stands in front of the mirror during those hours. Anyway, he would not have time for that. When he is at the club, it’s mainly for training. He really lives for his job.”
Peeters suspects it is no different with the Portuguese national team.
“Cristiano is a very nice guy, but at the same time he takes football very seriously,” he noted.
“On the bus he doesn’t talk about much else. He will be very motivated to beat Belgium [in the last 16 at Euro 2020].”
Cristiano Ronaldo is so determined to be the best he will text TV pundits asking why they prefer Lionel Messi, according to his former teammate Rio Ferdinand.
Ferdinand, who played with Ronaldo at Manchester United, said the Portugal player is an “obsessed human” when it comes to the game.
Speaking during the BBC’s Euro 2020 coverage, Ferdinand said: “He’s a phenomenal player but someone who thinks about everything in the game to get every little bit out of himself. He uses negativity as fuel.”
Ronaldo is known for his extreme dedication to the game. Stories about his brutal training regime are well-known. Just this week for example, a former coach claimed he used to train alone behind a hill to perfect his skills away from his teammates.
He also sticks to a strict diet, eating six meals a day just to stay in prime condition.
Speaking with former England player turned presenter Gary Lineker during coverage of Portugal’s Wednesday game with France, Ferdinand shared an anecdoate that perfectly sums up Ronaldo’s competitiveness.
Ferdinand told Lineker, who makes no secret of the fact he believes Messi is a greater player than Ronaldo, the following: “You [Lineker] say Messi is the better out of the two. He will text me saying ‘why has he said that?’
“It’s his competitive nature and you need that to be the best.”
Comparisons between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are nothing new. The pair have been contesting best player of the year accolades since 2007, and together they have a combined 11 FIFA Ballon d’Or trophies.
The two first played in the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals when Ronaldo’s Manchester United defeated Messi’s Barcelona 1-0 over two legs. Since that game, they have met each other 36 times with Messi winning 16 matches to Ronaldo’s nine.
The former Real Madrid winger has previously said that his rivalry with Messi pushed him to be a better player. Speaking in 2019, he said: “I have no doubt that Messi has made me a better player and vice-versa.
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