Cristiano Ronaldo, the superstar footballer, has achieved a historic milestone as the first male player to reach 200 international appearances.
The 38-year-old Ronaldo was recognized by Guinness World Records ahead of Portugal’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Iceland on Tuesday night, June 20.
To celebrate this remarkable achievement, he scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Portugal secured a 1-0 victory over Iceland in the European Championship qualifying match.
Ronaldo holds the record for being Portugal’s all-time highest goal scorer with 123 goals.
Furthermore, he was part of Portugal’s triumph in the European Championship in 2016 and also tasted success in the Nations League in 2019.
Expressing his gratitude ahead of the game against Iceland, Ronaldo, as reported by ESPN, stated, “Two hundred games played proves the love I have for my country. For me, it is an extremely important milestone. It means a lot. [Two hundred] is a beautiful number that [no men’s player] has. I’m very proud because this is something I never thought I could reach. And I’m continuing to set records.”
Ronaldo also made historic strides at the World Cup in Qatar, where he became the first male player to score in five World Cups. Additionally, he holds the record for the most international hat-tricks with ten.
