Cristiano Ronaldo admits 900th goal in Nations League win over ...

Published 05/09/2024 at 23:02 GMT

It marked the 39-year-old’s 131st goal for his nation, having scored exactly 50% of his total efforts for La Liga giants Real Madrid.

And even for one of the most prolific finishers of all time, landmarks of this magnitude are not underestimated as the ex-Manchester United forward explained.

"It was an exciting goal for me,” said Ronaldo. “It's a round number. Only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.

"It's a unique milestone in my career. I don't break records… they haunt me!"

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Running to the corner flag and lifting his arms out in jubilation, Ronaldo appeared to get emotional as he was mobbed by his team-mates.

"As you know, I'm already 39 and a half years old and so you have to be very focused for things to go well. To be at this level requires a lot of dedication,” said Ronaldo.

"So, when these little records happen, small, big, I get emotional because I know and value what I do, and my team-mates, because obviously without my team-mates this would be unthinkable."

After failing to score at UEFA Euro 2024, despite having 24 efforts on goal, Ronaldo was back to his old ways for club side Al-Nassr.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner netted in his first two appearances of the new Saudi Pro League season, and his strike against Zlatko Dalic’s side ended a run of five international matches without a goal.

And Ronaldo was feeling more positive about his national team after their win in Lisbon, saying that Roberto Martinez had allowed the players to be “freer”.

"After what happened in the European Championship, we had to give a good response and that's what happened," Ronaldo said.

"We played well. Croatia fought really well and I think it was a spectacular game.

"I felt freer than usual in this game. The coach also gave me that opportunity and we also played, in my opinion, a little differently to how we played in the European Championship.

"We made a lot of changes, the players were freer on the pitch and when that happens, it's better for me, I'll be honest.

"I feel better, I feel more involved in the game and I can enjoy football more. It's not that I didn't enjoy it at the Euros, but I like being a free player, I like to make space for my team-mates too and today was a performance that the team performed very well."

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