Ronaldo sets all-time goal record

Saturday 12 March 2022 18:30

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick against Tottenham elevated the Manchester United striker beyond Josef Bican as FIFA’s all-time record goalscorer in competitive matches.

In 2020, FIFA recognised Prague-born Bican’s total of 805 goals as the most in world football and Ronaldo’s unstoppable long-range strike drew him level with that total.

And when the Portuguese striker finished from close-range to make it 2-1 to United, our number 7 established himself the sole holder of the accolade, ahead of Bican, who played international football for Austria in the 1930s before switching to Czechoslovakia.

With the sides locked at 2-2 in the second period, Ronaldo rose highest and powered home a header, giving United the lead and further extending his record.

This term, Ronaldo has now scored 18 goals in all competitions, and the last time the striker didn’t get into double figures for goals was the 2004/05 season, when he accumulated nine.

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Ronaldo’s most prolific seasons came when he played for Real Madrid, scoring 450 goals in 438 games across a nine-year period.

During that time, the Portuguese attacker accumulated a total of 15 trophies, including four Champions Leagues, becoming the club’s all-time top goalscorer in the process.

Bican, on the other hand, achieved remarkable figures of his own when playing at SK Slavia Prague, accumulating 535 goals in just 272 appearances at the club.

This feat only adds to Ronaldo’s other achievements; the United striker already holds the all-time records for most Champions League goals (140), and most international goals in world football (115).

Ronaldo’s hat-trick also saw him overtake Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 95 Premier League goals for United, as the striker now has 96 and is closing in on 100.

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Opta also reported that Ronny is only the third player aged 37 or older to score twice in a Premier League match after former Red Teddy Sheringham and Graham Alexander, who  managed this twice.

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