Cristiano Ronaldo: Juve star beats Pele, Messi and Henry to international record
Cristiano Ronaldo once again justified why he is being rated the greatest footballer of all-time with a heroic performance for Portugal against Lithuania on Thursday, November 14.
The Portuguese captain proved age is just a number with his prodigious form for his country, scoring a sublime hat-trick in Portugal's 6-0 victory over Lithuania during Euro 2020 qualifier match held at the Estádio Algarve.
The three goals mean the 34-year-old has grabbed 55th hat-trick of his career and increased his international tally to 98 goals.
Similarly, with 163 appearances for Portugal, the Juventus talisman is twelve goals away from breaking Ali Daei's 109 record for most goals scored in international appearances.
And the record is so staggering that the Portuguese beats big names in football including Brazil's Pele, Germany's Miroslav Klose and France's Thierry Henry to a significant global landmark that shoots him far above his close rival Lionel Messi.
Here is how Ronaldo ranks among legends who have played for countries with a remarkable history in football as compiled by Dailymail.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - Caps 163 Goals: 98
2. Pele (Brazil) - Caps: 92 Goals: 77
3. Miroslav Klose (Germany) - Caps: 137 Goals: 71
4. Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Caps: 136 Goals: 68
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) - Caps: 116 Goals: 62
6. David Villa (Spain) - Caps: 98 Goals: 59
7. Wayne Rooney (England) - Caps: 120 Goals: 53
8. Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) - Caps: 83 Goals: 51
9. Thierry Henry (France) - Caps: 123 Goals: 51
10. Robin van Persie (Holland) - Caps: 102 Goals: 50
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Brazilian legend and three-time World Cup winner, Pele, has finally settled the old debate surrounding the greatest footballer discussion between Cristiano Ronaldo and his long-time rival Lionel Messi.
Brazil legend was rating the current football poster-boys - Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar - on performances and interestingly he chose the Barcelona ace as the most complete player he would have preferred to play with.
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Source: Legit.ng
