Cristiano Ronaldo subtly shaded rival Lionel Messi after netting his 900th goal, as he asserted his Euro 2016 glory for Portugal was "equivalent to winning a World Cup". Ronaldo reached a new milestone during Portugal's victorious 2-1 Nations League clash against Croatia on Thursday, with emotions spilling over into tears upon scoring.
Addressing the media post-match about his future and the elusive World Cup title, Ronaldo, who would be 41 at the 2026 tournament, expressed indifference, having achieved significant European successes already. "Portugal winning Euros is equivalent to winning a World Cup," he claimed.
Ronaldo underscored his satisfaction with his career thus far, stating: "I've already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. I'm not motivated by that. I'm motivated by enjoying football and the records come naturally."
Diehard fans are stirring debate online, interpreting Ronaldo's statements as a sly jab at Messi, who boasts 867 career goals and clinched World Cup victory with Argentina last year. Various social media comments suggest the rivalry lingers on: "Messi living rent free in his head," one fan quipped.
Another mused, "I'm 100% sure he didn't sleep the night Messi won the World Cup" while another declared, "Just confirmed why Messi is the greatest".
Ronaldo, upon reaching an astonishing 900 career goals, shared his thoughts: "Only me, and the people around me know how difficult it is to work daily to be physically and psychologically well and reach goal 900. It's a unique milestone in my career and it was with a lot of emotion I celebrated that goal."
"It represents a lot. It was the number I wanted to achieve for a long time and I knew I would achieve it because, as I continue to play, it would happen naturally. I already won two trophies for Portugal, something I really wanted. Whatever comes next is spectacular."
Looking ahead ambitiously, the football icon revealed his ultimate target to Rio Ferdinand as he said: "Soon I will do 900 and after that it will be 1,000."
"If I don't have injuries, that is most important, I want that. My challenge is to reach 1,000 goals, with one difference all the goals that I score will have video. So I can prove that."
