Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo has broken the international scoring record after his brace against the Republic of Ireland earlier today.
Portugal managed to pick up a 2-1 win over the Irish in a World Cup qualifiers game and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the closing stages of the game.
John Egan handed Ireland the lead on the 45th minute but Ronaldo scored the equalizer on the 89th minute and the winner on the 96th with two incredible headers.
The Manchester United star now has 111 goals in 180 appearances for his country and he has broken Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals for Iran.
The 36-year-old could have broken the record earlier but he had a penalty saved by Gavin Bazunu earlier on in the game.
“I’m so happy, not only because I beat the record, but for the special moment that we had,” Ronaldo said. “Two goals at the end of the game. I have to appreciate what the team did, we believed until the end. I’m so glad.”
In terms of active goal scorers, the closest international scorer to Cristiano Ronaldo is Ali Mabkhout, who has 76 goals for the United Arab Emirates.
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is third on the list with 73 goals for his country.
It will be interesting to see if the Paris Saint Germain forward can close in on Ronaldo’s record over the next few years.
In theory, Belgian international Romelu Lukaku also has a good chance of beating the Portuguese superstar’s record.
The Chelsea striker has age on his side and he has scored 63 goals in 96 games for Belgium.
