Cristiano Ronaldo claimed records “haunt” him after he netted the 900th career goal to seal victory for Portugal against Croatia.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 900th career goal, but the Portugal captain claimed he is “haunted” by records.
Ronaldo scored his landmark goal in the 34th minute of Thursday’s Nations League contest between Portugal and Croatia in Lisbon.
The 39-year-old’s close-range finish, his 131st goal for Portugal, was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Roberto Martinez’s team, who went ahead through Diogo Dalot, although the full-back then scored an own goal that dragged Croatia back into proceedings.
Ronaldo was taken off late on to a standing ovation, and speaking to Portuguese media, he said: “It was an exciting goal for me. It’s a round number.
“Only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.
“It’s a unique milestone in my career. I don’t break records… they haunt me!”
Ronaldo let the emotions out after scoring, and seemed to be in tears of joy while celebrating.
“As you know, I’m already 39 and a half years old and so you have to be very focused for things to go well,” he explained. “To be at this level requires a lot of dedication.
“So, when these little records happen, small, big, I get emotional because I know and value what I do, and my teammates, because obviously without my team-mates this would be unthinkable.”
Ronaldo endured a difficult Euro 2024 campaign, failing to score from 24 shots, including a penalty that was saved by Jan Oblak.
Portugal eventually crashed out to France on penalties, and Ronaldo stressed the importance of getting off to a good start, and complimented Martinez’s change in approach.
“After what happened in the European Championship, we had to give a good response and that’s what happened,” he said.
“We played well. Croatia fought really well and I think it was a spectacular game.
“I felt freer than usual in this game. The coach also gave me that opportunity and we also played, in my opinion, a little differently to how we played in the European Championship.
“We made a lot of changes, the players were freer on the pitch and when that happens, it’s better for me, I’ll be honest.
“I feel better, I feel more involved in the game and I can enjoy football more. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it at the Euros, but I like being a free player, I like to make space for my team-mates too and today was a performance that the team performed very well.”