Monday night might have been a disappointment for the Portuguese national team after a 2-1 loss to Ukraine in European qualifying, but forward Cristiano Ronaldo had a special night that he will never forget.
Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal for club and country in the match after scoring a penalty past keeper Andriy Pyatov in the 72nd minute of the match. It was the only real moment to smile about for Portugal on a disappointing night in Kiev.
The Madeira native became only the sixth player in the history of the sport to notch 700 career goals. Gerd Muller, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Romario, and Josef Bican are the only other players to have ever accomplished the feat.
The penalty kick was the 95th of Ronaldo’s career with his native country. His other 605 goals have come with his club teams, Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
The prolific Portuguese forward has scored his 700 goals in only 974 career games, giving him an average of 0.72 goals per match.
His longtime rival, Lionel Messi, is set to be the next player to reach the 700 goal mark. He has scored 672 goals in his career with Barcelona and Argentina and could reach the mark later this season.
It’s an incredible accomplishment that speaks to the quality of the career of one of the greatest soccer players in history.