Football

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has more career goals after Ronaldo’s 700th strike?


Cristiano Ronaldo took his career tally of goals to 700 on Monday night as he struck from the spot for Portugal.

The national team captain scored a penalty to reach the landmark, although Portugal were beaten 2-1 by Ukraine – who ended with 10 men in Kiev – in their Euro 2020 qualifying clash.

Ronaldo’s 700th career goal – and his 95th on the international stage – came in his 974th career appearance.

It was his 162nd cap for Portugal, 35 more than his nation’s second most-capped player, Luis Figo.

Ronaldo has 95 goals and 28 assists for his country as he looks to become the most prolific player of all time at international level, with Iran’s Ali Daei currently the all-time leading goalscorer with 109 strikes.

But while Ronaldo trails Daei, he does lead long-time rival Lionel Messi both in terms of international goals and all-time career goals.

The Barcelona forward has 672 goals for Argentina and his club, albeit in just 828 appearances – 146 matches less than Ronaldo, who is two years older.

For Argentina, Messi has 68 goals and 41 assists in 136 caps – putting him 27 goals down on Ronaldo, formerly of Barca’s arch enemies Real Madrid. 

At club level, Ronaldo has 605 goals to Messi’s 604, with his record for Portugal putting him ahead in the all-time career stakes.

The South American does reign supreme in terms of assists though, with 274 for club and country to Ronaldo’s 219.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo’s latest feat means he is one of just six players – per the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) – to score 700 or more.

He follows Gerd Muller, who managed 735, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Romario and Joef Biscan, with the RSSSF declaring the Czech-Austrian the most successful goalscorer ever with 805 goals between 1931 and 1955.

And speaking about how long he intends to play on in his career, the uber-fit Ronaldo, 34, claimed he could go on for another five or six seasons yet.

The Juventus striker said: ”Maybe I can leave my career next year… but I can also play up to 40 or 41.

“I don’t know. What I always say is to enjoy the moment. The gift is excellent and I have to continue to enjoy it.”

In what is his 18th season as a first-team player, Ronaldo has four goals in eight games for Juve this term and seven in four for Portugal, whom he helped to win the UEFA Nations League back in June with a hat-trick against Switzerland in the semi-finals before a 1-0 win over Netherlands in the final.



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