Cristiano Ronaldo has reached yet another career milestone when he became the first player to reach 800 top-level goals.
The Manchester United attacker scored twice in his team’s 3-2 Premier League win over Arsenal front of an adoring Old Trafford crowd.
Ronaldo scored 12 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions since rejoining United from Juventus in the summer.
The 36-year-old’s brace took him to 130 goals across two spells for United, which adds to his five for Sporting Lisbon, 450 at Real Madrid, 101 for Juventus and 115 for Portugal.
His goals for Portugal make him the all-time top international goalscore.
There is some debate over his status as the most prolific scorer in men’s football, with Brazil’s Pele and Romario both claiming over 1,000 goals, but statisticians say Ronaldo tops the scoring charts in official competitions.
Unofficial statisticians RSSSF say Pele (769), Romario and Ferenc Puskas (both 761) are the players nearest to Ronaldo at the elite end of football.
Lionel Messi is next on 756 goals for Argentina (80), Barcelona (672) and Paris St-Germain (four).
On Amazon Prime Video the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, Alan Shearer, hailed Ronaldo’s phenomenal record after United’s win.
“You just have to sit there and say ‘wow’ and applaud the guy.
“It’s very difficult to get to the top but it is staying there too, you have to get up in the morning and go again and the whole world is looking for you to perform every week, It’s just phenomenal what he’s done,” said Shearer.
