Even at 39 years old and away from the spotlight of European football, Cristiano Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down. The Portugal captain continues his conquest of the Saudi Pro League. With his goal in the recent 3-0 victory over Al-Orobah, the striker set a new record by becoming the first player in history to score in 600 official matches.
While Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to win a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, it is undeniable that he has been performing at an incredible individual level. Thus, it looks like a safe football prediction to expect the 39-year-old to score regularly in the future. At the same time, this record should not be overlooked.
This article will add more context to Cristiano Ronaldo’s new achievement and speculate on what other career milestones the Portuguese star may achieve soon.
Details of Cristiano Ronaldo’s New Record
To offer an exact definition of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record, the Portuguese is the first professional footballer to score at least a goal in 600 different official matches. This number does not take into account friendly club games, otherwise Cristiano’s tally would be higher.
In total, the 39-year-old has made 1,245 appearances over the course of his career at the time of writing. This means that the striker left the pitch with at least one goal in almost every other match. He is clearly not planning to retire yet, and on platforms like ClubSport, fans can review favourable betting odds on the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo’s team Al-Nassr.
As for his overall scoring record, Cristiano Ronaldo has netted 906 times for club and country. This includes 374 matches in which he scored one goal, 160 matches in which he scored a brace, 55 hat-tricks, nine games in which he scored four goals and two games in which he scored five goals!
At the same time, it should be remembered that back in the day, club friendlies were more popular and more competitive – it wasn’t just a pre-season warm-up game. So legends like Pele or Ferenc Puskas, who were the prolific goalscorers of their time, played more friendlies than we are currently used to.
Previous Best and Competitors
Before Cristiano Ronaldo, the record for scoring in the most official games belonged to Romario. The iconic Brazilian forward made 963 total appearances over the course of his career and scored in 544 games. Romario has a higher ratio of matches in which he scored but it should be noted that he played in less competitive leagues and has a lower record of overall goals, at 745.
Among players that could hypothetically compete with Cristiano Ronaldo for this record are Lionel Messi (556 games with at least a goal), Robert Lewandowski (444) and Luis Suarez (423).
While these players are slightly younger than the Portugal captain, they are all in the final stages of their career and it is difficult to predict how long they will stay active. Besides, Cristiano will certainly extend this record beyond 600 games as he continues scoring.
Next Major Milestone for the Portuguese Star
One of the reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo continues scoring like a madman at the age of 39 is his propensity to always demand more of himself and constantly set new ambitious goals.
Thus, in a recent interview, the Portuguese international confirmed that his next target was to score 1,000 career goals.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals. If I don’t have any injuries, this for me is the most important [thing], I want that. For me, the best mark that I can have in football is to reach, first, 900 goals. After, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals,” the striker said, as quoted by ESPN.
In the 2023/24 campaign, the Portuguese scored 50 goals in 51 appearances. If he keeps up the same pace, it would take him two seasons to reach the milestone of 1,000 goals.
The 1,000 goals may not make Cristiano Ronaldo the best goalscorer in the history of football. Pele is recognized by the Guiness World Record as having scored 1,279 goals and while the legend himself claimed that he scored 1,283 goals.
However, those goals are poorly documented while all of Cristiano’s goals would be on video and thus impossible to deny or put to doubt.
Finally, scoring 1,000 goals when football has become more defensive and competitive is an incredible achievement in itself. Time will tell if Cristiano Ronaldo can do it.