Football – International Friendly Match – Slovenia vs Portugal – Stozice Stadium, Ljubjana, Slovenia – March 26, 2024 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts
16:59 JST, June 5, 2024
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has exemplified longevity in an outstanding career for more than two decades, breaking countless records and playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world, and he will be determined to make his mark at Euro 2024.
His move from Europe’s elite to Saudi Arabia after a disappointing performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which ended with Portugal’s shock 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals, has raised questions over whether the 39- year-old Ronaldo’s brilliant career is nearing an end.
However, he will be out to prove he can still make a difference at the top level and will arrive in Germany for Euro 2024 as the trusted leader of a talented team led by former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez.
Among Ronaldo’s many achievements, he is the top scorer in the history of international men’s football with 128 goals in 204 official matches.
Almost twenty years have passed between his first Portuguese goal against Greece at the 2004 European Championship and his most recent against Liechtenstein in November 2023. The victory at the 2016 European Championship marked the pinnacle of his international career.
Ronaldo has scored 891 times in his career, holds the record for the most Champions League goals in the history of the competition with 140 and is the only player to have scored in five consecutive European Championship tournaments.
He will look to extend that record in Germany as he scores almost 900 goals, a number that could be within reach during the tournament. But his goal is much higher.
“It will be quite difficult to score a thousand goals, but it’s about how I am mentally, my motivation,” Ronaldo said after scoring twice against Slovakia.
“If my legs physically treat me the same way I treat them… We’ll see. To reach 1,000, you must first reach 900. I think I’ll get there.”
Having scored 10 goals in the last 12 games with Portugal and 42 in 41 matches with Al-Nassr this season, Ronaldo’s ruthless mentality could be the key to making a statement with his country against all odds in Germany.
