Cristiano Ronaldo has added another feather to his hat of history by becoming the most capped player in men’s international football.
The 38-year-old started Portugal’s UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein and scored twice to also extend his lead at the top of the international goal-scoring charts.
His participation in the Portugal national team was called into question after their unceremonious exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at the quarter final stage. The exit of long term manager Fernando Santos after the tournament increased the speculation that Ronaldo was not going to be a part of Portugal’s future going forward.
However, new manager Roberto Martinez insisted that he was not going to move forward from the team that Santos left behind just yet, giving Ronaldo hope for another run in the national team.
Ronaldo has moved on from a turbulent six months and settled down in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, where he is the highest paid player in the world and the country’s official football ambassador. He has also found his scoring boots again, with nine goals in eight league appearances for the Saudi team showing that they were right to splash the cash.
As a result, he got a merited place in Martinez’s first call ups. The inevitability of the former Manchester United man claiming the record for himself became higher as he was less than likely to spend time as a substitute.
Ronaldo’s 197th international game sees him surpass the total of 196 appearances which Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa amassed in his 21-year ongoing career. Al-Mutawa is still active, however, and could equal the record sooner than later. Both players are also of the same age and could end up sharing a joint record at the time of their retirement.
Ronaldo, like Al-Mutawa, is 21 years into his senior career and 20 years into his Portugal international career. His first match was against Kazakhstan in 2003 as an 18-year-old, when he came on for the man whose shirt he eventually took over in the national team, Luis Figo.
He would score his first Portugal goal a year later at the Euro 2004 tournament. He is currently on 120 goals, thanks to the two goals scored in his record-setting appearance.
Ronaldo has his sights set on a Euro 2024 appearance as he hopes to seal another major international trophy before he finally calls it a day on his storied career.
It remains to be seen what new boss Martinez will be planning for the man who is not only the captain of the side – a role he has had for 15 years – but also the star of the team.
