Thomas Muller shares 9-word message for Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal captain bags 900th career goal
Cristiano Ronaldo has broken yet another record, becoming the first player to score 900 career goals after netting for Portugal against Croatia on Thursday, September 5. Bayern Munich and Germany star Thomas Muller took to social media to praise Ronaldo’s remarkable achievement.
Despite being 39, the Portuguese icon continues to perform at an elite level, scoring his 131st goal for A Selecao in a UEFA Nations League clash. His teammate Diogo Dalot opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
Cristiano Ronaldo was then in the right place at the right time to capitalize on Nuno Mendes’ cross and double the lead. Although Croatia managed to pull one back through Dalot's own goal, Portugal secured all three points on the night.
With this milestone, the Al-Nassr superstar became the first male footballer to reach 900 goals. Social media was flooded with tributes, including a comment from Thomas Muller on Ronaldo’s Instagram post, where he expressed his admiration.
"900 goals! Wow! What a great performance!! Congratulations, Cristiano," Muller wrote.
Ronaldo himself was visibly emotional after the goal, as he celebrated in front of Portugal fans at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa Stadium, Benfica. After their victory on the night, he opened up on the milestone he achieved.
"It means a lot. It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally," Ronaldo said to AP (via TOI)
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner began his career at Sporting CP, where he scored five goals in 31 games before moving to Manchester United. It was in England where he established himself as one of the greatest players of all time, netting 118 goals across competitions for United.
Cristiano Ronaldo reached even greater heights after his move to Real Madrid, where he scored an astonishing 450 goals in 438 appearances. He became their all-time top scorer while winning numerous individual and team honors.
During his early 30s, a stint at Juventus saw the Portuguese forward score 101 goals before making an emotional return to Manchester United in 2021. He added 27 more goals during his second spell.
In the later stages of his career, Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr, where he continues to break records, having scored 68 times in just 74 appearances. He's also scored 131 goals for Portugal and is the top scorer in men's international football.
Cristiano Ronaldo shares his ambition to reach 1000 career goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong and has set a clear goal in mind, which is to reach 1,000 career goals. He certainly remains determined to achieve this milestone, while also putting any discussions of retirement on hold.
“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,” Ronaldo told Rio Ferdinand after scoring his 899th goal (via ESPN) .
After contributing to Portugal's victory over Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo will face Scotland in their second Nations League match on Sunday, September 8. The forward will then return to the Al-Nassr camp, where they are scheduled to play Al-Ahli on September 13.