Sporting Lisbon send special congratulatory message to Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring 700 club career goals

Sporting CP have congratulated Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo after he scored his 700th goal at club level in the 2-1 win against Everton on Sunday (9 October).

The Red Devils centre-forward is the first player in history to reach this milestone in club football. He is also the men's leading goal-scorer in international football with 117 strikes in 189 games for Portugal.

Ronaldo came on as a first-half substitute for the injured Anthony Martial with the game still at 1-1. The Portugal icon was set on goal by Casemiro in the 44th minute and hit a low, hard left-footed shot past Jordan Pickford to reach the milestone.

Five of those 700 goals have come at Sporting CP in 31 matches, where Ronaldo started his professional career before moving to Manchester United in 2003. After the game, the Portuguese club were one of many sending congratulatory messages to Cristiano Ronaldo on this historic achievement.

Their club's official Twitter account wrote:

"20 years since his first goal for #SportingCP… the [700]th career club goal! Congratulations, @Cristiano [Green Heart] #MadeInSporting."

20 years since his first goal for #SportingCP… the 7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th career club goal!

Congratulations, @Cristiano 💚 #MadeInSporting https://t.co/bvol8E10gQ

The first two professional goals of the Portuguese's career came in Sporting's 3-0 Primeira Liga win against Moreirense on 7 October 2002. A huge chunk of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals came during his nine-year stay in Spain, where he scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Real Madrid across competitions.

His scoring rate at United is comparatively modest, where he has scored 144 times in 340 matches. For Juventus, Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 140 appearances in all competitions before leaving after a three-year spell to join the Red Devils last summer.

He has reached the 700-goal mark in 943 club appearances while also providing 222 assists.

Manchester United star gives verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo reaching 700 goals milestone

After the game against Everton, Ronaldo's teammate at club and international level, Bruno Fernandes, stated that he was happy that the United No. 7 reached this incredible milestone. He said (h/t ESPN):

"It is tough still counting goals for Ronaldo because every week seems like a new record. I am really happy because he has been working hard to get this goal. Today, he got the goal and the win and that is the most important for him, that the team won."

Lionel Messi has only scored one more club goal than Cristiano Ronaldo in 2022 👀 https://t.co/hlJNCRTWEE

The goal against manager Frank Lampard's side was Cristiano Ronaldo's first league goal of the season. He has scored just twice in 10 games across competitions under manager Erik ten Hag, with the other goal coming from the penalty spot in the 2-0 win against FC Sheriff.