Though Portuguese football star, Cristiano Ronaldo may not be getting the season he wants, he has however made history after scoring the 700th club goal of his illustrious career on Sunday evening, against Everton.
The veteran forward, who has found minutes hard to come by under new United coach Erik ten Hag, was summoned off the bench in the first half at Goodison Park for the injured Anthony Martial, putting his team 2-1 in front 14 minutes after coming on.
Sunday’s goal at Goodison Park was only the second of the season for Ronaldo, whose 699th goal came in the Europa League against FC Sheriff in September.
The goal took the 37-year-old Portugal forward’s tally to 144 for United across his two spells at the club. He scored 450 for Real Madrid, 101 for Juventus and five for Sporting Lisbon. He is now 10 club goals ahead of his once great rival Lionel Messi.
Last year, Ronaldo made history by going top of the scoring charts in men’s international football, after scoring world record 117 goals in 191 international games since making his Portugal debut in 2003.
The iconic No 7 broke that record when he scored twice for his country in a 2-1 win against the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup qualifier on September 1, 2021.
Prior to Ronaldo, the most goals scored by a male on the international stage was Iran legend Ali Daei who netted 109 times in 148 appearances.