Ronaldo sets record in Al Nassr's big win

The moment he stepped onto the KSU pitch in the 16th round of the Saudi Pro League in the early morning of December 9, Cristiano Ronaldo made history with the milestone of 1,200 official matches in his career. This is a record for players who do not play in the goalkeeper position.

The Portuguese superstar has been playing consistently for more than 20 years to reach this milestone. CR7's first professional match took place on August 14, 2002 when he played for Sporting Lisbon.

Excluding goalkeepers, Ronaldo is the only player in history to have made 1,200 appearances at all levels. Previously, the names who played more matches than the 38-year-old veteran were all goalkeepers, respectively Fabio (1,212 matches), Rogerio Ceni (1,237 matches), Paul Bastock (1,286 matches) and Peter Shilton (1,375 matches).

On the record-breaking day, Ronaldo shone with a goal and an assist, helping Al Nassr beat Al Riyadh 4-1.

“Another 3 important points. Thanks to all my teammates for helping me reach the milestone of 1,200 matches in my career. A memorable journey but I'm not done here yet,” the 38-year-old superstar shared on his personal social media page.

During his career, Ronaldo played 31 matches for Sporting, 346 matches for Man Utd, 438 matches for Real Madrid, 134 matches for Juventus, 46 matches for Al Nassr and 205 times for the Portuguese national team.

With a record number of matches, Ronaldo has scored 868 goals, the most in history. He is only 132 times away from the goal of 1,000 goals.

In 2023, Ronaldo was also the second highest scorer in the world with 49 goals, an achievement equal to players in their prime such as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and only 1 goal behind the leader Erling Haaland (50 goals).

In the 2023/24 season alone, CR7 is also leading the Saudi Pro League in two key indicators, which are 16 goals and 8 assists. In the rest of 2023, Ronaldo still has 3 matches in hand to increase his personal achievements.