Cristiano Ronaldo's 900th career goal helped Portugal to a 2-1 win over Croatia in their first Nations League game on Thursday as Diogo Dalot opened the scoring for the hosts and netted an own goal. The Portuguese legend becomes the first player in history to score 900 goals in competitive club and country football; he was also the first to reach 800 goals in December 2021. Now 39 years old, Ronaldo is a man who lives for the big occasion and continues to rewrite the record books, with the next big target being 1,000 goals.
Milestone Goals in Ronaldo's Career
From goal number one to 900, here are the milestone goals in the decorated story of Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
Ronaldo scored his first goal in professional football in October 2002, netting twice in Sporting CP’s Portuguese league match against Moreirense. His 100th goal would come at his next club, Manchester United, in January 2008, when he scored a penalty against Tottenham to reach the milestone of a century of strikes. At the end of that year, Ronaldo won his first of five Ballon D’Or awards and was named the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year. He also won his first UEFA Champions League that year. It was his final year with United before making a then-world record transfer to Real Madrid.
CR7 reached his next five landmarks with Los Blancos, scoring his 200th and 300th goals just 17 months apart. He then netted goal number 400, which was dedicated to the late Portuguese legend Eusébio, in January 2014.
If there is one competition where Ronaldo has truly left his mark, it is the UEFA Champions League. The tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer achieved 500 career goals in a group stage game against Malmo in September 2015. Ronaldo followed that up by winning the European Championship with Portugal in 2016, but his next landmark of 600 goals was on the most perfect stage yet: the 2017 Champions League final.
Ronaldo scored twice in Real Madrid’s 4-1 triumph over Juventus, with his second goal sealing the trophy and marking his 600th career goal. Alongside his fourth Champions League title, e also won his fifth Ballon d’Or, a second Spanish league title, and a third Club World Cup that year. The forward has always loved representing his native Portugal, so it was fitting that his 700th goal came in the trademark shirt against Ukraine in October 2019.
Eleven months later, Ronaldo reached a century of international goals and remains the all-time leading international men’s goalscorer. Ronaldo's latest milestone, goal number 900, which he celebrated in front of a home Portuguese crowd.
Ronaldo has long competed with Lionel Messi and Pele in the all-time goalscoring charts, but he was the first to score 800 career goals in competitive football. Just like his 100th, his 800th came for Manchester United in a 3-2 victory against Arsenal in December 2021.
To think CR7 was done would be naïve. When he found the back of the net for goal number 900 in September 2024, he was overcome with emotion. To achieve what no professional male footballer has ever done, and in the twilight of his career, is nothing short of an outstanding achievement.
Targeting 1,000 Goals
What is next is an easy answer: Ronaldo wants to write more history and reach quadruple figures. Ronaldo said on his YouTube channel to former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand in August (before he had scored his 900th goal), “I will raise the level even higher. Soon I will reach 900, and after I will get 1,000. I want to reach 1,000 goals; if I do not have injuries, this is the most important thing for me. I want that.”
Ronaldo's Goalscoring Prowess
Cristiano Ronaldo has hit his latest ridiculous milestone, having scored the 900th goal of his legendary career in Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.
“It means a lot,” Ronaldo said after the game, via the Associated Press. “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 looked almost tearful as he wheeled away to celebrate by the corner flag, having doubled Portugal’s first-half lead after timing his run to perfection to meet Nuno Mendes’ deep cross with a classic first-time finish.
“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said, per AP. “It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”
The 39-year-old had spoken recently of his ambitions to reach the next landmark in his glittering career.
“I want to reach 1,000 goals,” the Al Nassr star told Rio Ferdinand, speaking on his own newly-launched YouTube channel. “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's 900th Goal Breakdown
Ronaldo’s latest milestone of 900 goals for club and country reminded us all of his greatness. We’ve broken down the numbers behind this astonishing record:
Overall Games: 1,236 Goals: 900 Goals per game: 0.73 Hat-tricks: 66 Free-kicks: 64 Penalties (missed): 164 (30) Assists: 254
By Season
2002-03: 5 goals in 31 appearances 2003-04: 8 goals in 53 appearances 2004-05: 16 goals in 60 appearances 2005-06: 15 goals in 62 appearances 2006-07: 28 goals in 61 appearances 2007-08: 46 goals in 61 appearances 2008-09: 27 goals in 60 appearances 2009-10: 34 goals in 46 appearances 2010-11: 56 goals in 59 appearances 2011-12: 69 goals in 69 appearances 2012-13: 59 goals in 64 appearances 2013-14: 62 goals in 57 appearances 2014-15: 66 goals in 60 appearances 2015-16: 57 goals in 61 appearances 2016-17: 56 goals in 56 appearances 2017-18: 54 goals in 55 appearances 2018-19: 31 goals in 47 appearances 2019-20: 48 goals in 52 appearances 2020-21: 46 goals in 59 appearances 2021-22: 32 goals in 49 appearances 2022-23: 23 goals in 46 appearances 2023-24: 57 goals in 63 appearances 2024-25: 5 goals in 5 appearances
By Competition
League: 549 goals Sporting: 3 goals (25 appearances) Manchester United: 103 goals (236 appearances) Real Madrid: 311 goals (292 appearances) Juventus: 81 goals (98 appearances) Saudi Pro League: 51 goals (49 appearances)
Champions League: 140 goals Manchester United: 21 goals (59 appearances) Real Madrid: 105 goals (101 appearances) Juventus: 14 goals (23 appearances)
Domestic cup: 54 goals Taca de Portugal: 2 goals (3 appearances) League Cup: 4 goals (12 appearances) FA Cup: 13 goals (27 appearances) Copa del Rey: 22 goals (30 appearances) Coppa Italia: 4 goals (10 appearances) Saudi King Cup: 3 goals (6 appearances) Arab Club Champions Cup: 6 goals (6 appearances)
Other club competitions: 26 goals Saudi Super Cup: 2 goals (4 appearances) AFC Champions League: 6 goals (9 appearances) Europa League: 2 goals (6 appearances) Supercoppa Italiana: 2 goals (3 appearances) Club World Cup: 7 goals (8 appearances) Supercopa de Espana: 4 goals (7 appearances) UEFA Super Cup: 2 goals (2 appearances) Champions League qualifying: 1 goal (4 appearances)
International: 131 goals Euros qualifier: 41 goals (44 appearances) World Cup qualifier: 36 goals (47 appearances) World Cup: 8 goals (22 appearances) European Championship: 14 goals (30 appearances) Confederations Cup: 2 goals (4 appearances) Nations League: 8 goals (12 appearances) International Friendly: 22 goals (54 appearances)
By Opponent
Top 10 club opponents scored against – No. of goals Twenty-seven goals: Sevilla Twenty-five goals: Atletico Madrid Twenty-three goals: Getafe Twenty goals: Barcelona, Celta Vigo Seventeen goals: Malaga, Athletic Club Fifteen goals: Villarreal, Valencia, Espanyol, Real Sociedad
By Method
Right foot: 574 goals (63.7%) Left foot: 173 goals (19.2%) Header: 151 goals (16.7%) Other body part: 2 goals (0.2%)
Open play: 672 (74.6%) Penalties: 164 (18.2%) Free kicks: 64 (7.1%)
Looking Ahead
With Ronaldo continuing to perform at a high level, the possibility of him reaching 1,000 goals is a real one. At his current rate, he could achieve this milestone by the end of the 2025/26 season.
