Cristiano Ronaldo had a message for Lionel Messi after reaching 900 career goals. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made history after scoring against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League. The landmark goal also enabled Portugal to win the fixture 2-1 against Croatia. After the match, Ronaldo was asked about the prospect of playing in the upcoming edition of the FIFA World Cup. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United footballer insisted that the World Cup did not bother him much since he had already lifted the European Championship in 2016. “Portugal winning Euros is equivalent to winning a World Cup,” Ronaldo said, as per multiple outlets.
Cristiano Ronaldo remained unhinged about the prospect of finishing his career without a FIFA World Cup title. The Portuguese icon would be 41 years old should he choose to compete in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in the United States in 2026. Speaking in the post-match conference after defeating Croatia, Ronaldo did not reveal if he was going to feature in the next edition of the FIFA tournament. But he voiced his contentment in a couple of titles he won with Portugal. “I've already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. I'm not motivated by that. I'm motivated by enjoying football and the records come naturally,” he said.
Cristiano Ronaldo also spoke about the landmark 900th goal he scored against Croatia. As per multiple outlets, he said, “Only me, and the people around me know how difficult it is to work daily to be physically and psychologically well and reach goal 900. It's a unique milestone in my career and it was with a lot of emotion I celebrated that goal. It represents a lot. It was the number I wanted to achieve for a long time and I knew I would achieve it because, as I continue to play, it would happen naturally.”
The FIFA World Cup trophy is a major crown that has eluded Cristiano Ronaldo’s trophy cabinet. The farthest Ronaldo has managed to reach in the tournament was the semi-finals in 2004. They were eventually knocked out by France back then. Portugal failed to crack the Round of 16, in the following edition and lost 0-1 to Spain.
In 2014, Portugal could not get past the group stage whereas Lionel Messi’s Argentina went on to play in the final. Portugal were eliminated by Uruguay in 2018 thanks to a brace from Edinson Cavani. In Qatar, two years back, Portugal conceded a defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Argentina completed a dream run to win the FIFA World Cup title in 2022.
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