Football: Ronaldo wants to be 'most capped player in history'
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Ronaldo holds the world record for men’s international goals, with 118, and the European men’s record of 196 caps.
PHOTO: AFP
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LISBON – Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday made no secret of his ambition to register another world record – for the most number of international caps – a day before Portugal’s clash with Liechtenstein in their Euro 2024 qualifier.
The 38-year-old was named in new Portugal coach Roberto Martinez’s squad despite being dropped from the starting line-up for their final matches of the Qatar World Cup in December.
The striker already holds the world record, with 118, for men’s international goals, and the European men’s record of 196 caps, a tally that also equals the world landmark with Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
“I like to break records, I have broken lot of records. Records are my motivation,” Ronaldo said.
“In addition to being the best scorer ever for national teams, I was also looking to be the international player with the most caps. I want to become the most capped player in history. That would make me proud. But it doesn’t stop there, I still want to be called up very often.”
Martinez looks set to include Ronaldo in his plans for Portugal for the near future despite his age.
“We’re going to give all the players an opportunity and respect all those who are already in the national team. Cristiano is one of them,” he had said.
Ronaldo’s international career began in August 2003 in a friendly against Kazakhstan and he has represented Portugal in every international competition since Euro 2004. For the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Portugal are in the same qualifying group as Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg and Slovakia.
As for his club career, Ronaldo said that he has been surprised by the level of competitiveness in the Saudi Pro League since joining Al Nassr from Manchester United in January on a 2½-year contract worth a reported €200 million (S$289 million).
“I think you should look at the (Saudi Pro League) in a different way,” he said. “I’m not going to say that the league is a Premier League, that would be a lie.
“But it’s a very competitive league that I’m positively surprised by, a very balanced league and good teams.
“I am sure that in the coming years the league will be... the fourth, fifth or sixth most competitive league in the world.” AFP, REUTERS
