That Cristiano Ronaldo is still playing the game of football at a competitive level at 39 years of age is something in itself.
To still be important and a match winner really does underscore just how dedicated the Portuguese is to his craft.
Behind all of the histrionics, he’s still as fit as a fiddle and has a body that players half his age would be proud of. That’s because he is still the exemplar in everything he does.
Ronaldo’s fantastic achievement
The competitive spirit hasn’t been dulled, and the need to be the best is clearly what drives him.
On Thursday night, he bagged his 900th competitive goal, scoring what turned out to be the winner in a 2-1 victory over Croatia.
That prompted Fabrizio Romano to eulogise about a player that many believe is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
“What a fantastic achievement for Ronaldo – 900 goals!” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“I’m sure he will keep playing for some years and only he knows how long, but the end is not near yet and his performances remain excellent.
“He’s a true footballing legend.”
Given that he’s shown no willingness to leave either the Portuguese national team or club football more generally, there’s likely to be plenty of time to make even more history for Ronaldo.
It’s entirely possible that he will shoot for the magical 1000 goals, which is something that only Pele can legitimately claim to have achieved before him.
With the game being much more technical and professional these days, were Ronaldo to bring up the 1000 goals, there’s a cogent argument to that being an even better record than Pele’s.
Of course, there will always be debate over all manner of stats for the likes of Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo and Messi, so whilst the latter two are still strutting their stuff, best to just enjoy the show rather than dissect it.
