Cristiano Ronaldo scores 700th goal, Sergio Ramos becomes Europe’s most capped male outfield player
Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal in his country’s Euro 2020 qualifier 2-1 defeat by Ukraine Monday.
Ronaldo’s second-half penalty brought up the landmark as he became the sixth player to score 700 career goals.
The 34-year-old has now scored 95 goals for his country, with only Iran’s Ali Daei in front of him in the international charts with 109 goals, according to European football’s governing body UEFA.
On top of his goals for Portugal, Ronaldo has scored 450 for Real Madrid, 118 for Manchester United, 32 for Juventus and five for Sporting Lisbon.
“How many records do I have? I don’t know. I have to enjoy the moment and thank those who helped me reach this impressive mark,” said Ronaldo, whose goals have come from 974 games.
“Records come naturally – I don’t go looking for them; records are looking for me!”
The Juventus forward is still some way behind Czech-Austrian forward Josef Bican, who scored more than 800 goals in his career from 1928 to 1955, according UEFA.
Brazil’s Romario scored 772 goals to sit in second place on the all-time list ahead of countryman Pele (767), Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas (746) and former Germany striker Gerd Muller (735), according to a list compiled by the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is second amongst active players, having scored 672 goals in his 828 career appearances.
READ: Italy’s Azzurri, wearing green, qualify for Euro 2020
Spanish longevity
Defender Sergio Ramos became Europe’s most-capped male outfield player, winning his 168th cap in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Norway Saturday.
He also became Spain’s most-capped player of all time, surpassing former teammate Iker Casillas.
Since making his Spain debut in 2005, Ramos has had an extraordinary amount of success.
He played a key role in Spain’s two European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012 and its World Cup victory in 2010.
“All that is personal is a little secondary,” said Ramos after the game.
“I would have happily traded this 168th cap for a victory. It was not the case. But this record is a great reward after so many years and it’s a great source of huge pride.
“I am emotional every time I put on this shirt. That will not change and I hope to continue doing so for many years.”
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The 33-year-old overtook Latvia’s Vitalijs Astafjevs atop the outfield caps list, and is now just eight caps behind former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s European record of 176 international appearances.
Ramos is still 16 appearances behind the world record for most caps — former Egypt midfielder Ahmed Hassan played 184 times for his country between 1995 and 2012.
