Rio Ferdinand has shared a message on social media addressing Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese icon scored a brace against Poland in the UEFA Nations League. The match ended in a 5-1 win for A Selecao at the Estadio do Dragao on Friday, November 15.
Following a goalless first half, Portugal broke the deadlock through Rafael Leao's header in the 59th minute. The hosts were then awarded a penalty for a handball, with Ronaldo converting from the spot in the 72nd minute.
Bruno Fernandes tripled Portugal's lead after being set up by Vitinha in the 80th minute. Pedro Neto netted the next goal for A Selecao three minutes later.
In the 87th minute, Ronaldo completed his brace with a bicycle kick. Dominik Marczuk netted the sole goal for Poland from an assist by Jakub Kiwior in the 88th minute.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 910 goals in his career. Following the UEFA Nations League match, his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand took to social media and posted about the Portuguese captain's new record.
He wrote:
"910* not out @Cristiano 😂🐐👌🏽 #roadto1000"
Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand shared the pitch 221 times across six seasons (2003-2009) at Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo on reaching 1000 goals before retiring
Cristiano Ronaldo shared his thoughts on reaching 1000 goals before hanging up his boots. The former Real Madrid superstar netted his 900th career goal in Portugal's UEFA Nations League clash against Croatia on September 5.
Days before achieving this milestone, he spoke about his aim before retirement with pundit Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, UR Cristiano.
"Soon I'll score 900 and then I'll beat 1000. If I don't have injuries, this is the most important thing for me. I want that. For me, it's the best mark that I can have in football to be the first to reach 900 goals. After that, my challenge is to reach 1000," he said.
When Ronaldo was recently asked about his aim before retirement, the 39-year-old replied that he is taking it one day at a time. He said (via GOAL):
"I now face my life as living in the moment. I can't think long term anymore. I said publicly that I wanted to reach 1,000 goals, but it seems that now everything is easy, just last month I reached 900. It's about living in the moment, seeing how my legs will respond in the next few years. If I reach 1,000 goals, that's fine, but if I don't, I'm already the player with the most goals in history."
Cristiano Ronaldo has netted 10 goals and provided three assists in 15 appearances across competitions for Al-Nassr this season. He has registered five goals for Portugal in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League.