"We have stopped counting, he hasn't" – Manchester United superstar shares thoughts on Cristiano Ronaldo reaching 900 career goals
Manchester United superstar Bruno Fernandes has showered praise on Cristiano Ronaldo for scoring his 900th career goal in Portugal's recent 2-1 win over Croatia.
Earlier this Thursday (September 5), Portugal beat Croatia to register their first victory in the Group A of the UEFA Nations League. Red Devils star Diogo Dalot opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Ronaldo made the most of Paris Saint-Germain ace Nuno Mendes' cross in the 34th minute. In the 41st minute, Dalot scored an own goal.
After the end of the contest, Fernandes was asked to share his honest thoughts on Ronaldo's recent milestone. The Manchester United captain responded to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo:
"I thought we had stopped counting. At least we have stopped counting, he hasn't. He likes to count them and I believe it is a very special number for him and we are all very happy for him, because it is not just Cristiano. As well as being Cristiano, he raises the name of our nation to the highest level as he has done all these years and this is another record, another normality in his life."
Fernandes, who assisted Dalot's opener in Lisbon, opined on the clash:
"[Croatia] have very mobile players, who end up not giving us much of a reference and end up opening up our midfield. But I think we were very responsible in the first half. In the second half, we let the game be too much theirs and they dominated possession too much. But at the end of the day, what counts is the victory and we are very happy with that."
Portugal, who were knocked out in the last-eight stage of the UEFA Euro 2024, will next face Scotland in Lisbon this Sunday (September 8).
How many of Cristiano Ronaldo's 900 goals were for English giants Manchester United?
So far, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 131 goals for Portugal in 213 matches across competitions. He ended his five-game goal drought for his national team in the UEFA Nations League clash on Thursday.
The 39-year-old found the back of the net 118 times in 292 overall outings during his first spell at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009. During his one-and-a-half year second stint from 2021 and 2022, the attacker bagged 27 goals in 54 games in all competitions.
Ronaldo, who has netted 68 goals in 74 appearances for Al-Nassr so far, scored 450 goals in just 438 total matches for Real Madrid. The ex-Manchester United man also scored 101 goals in 134 overall games for Juventus and five goals in 31 total appearances for Sporting CP.