Ronaldo becomes first footballer to score 900 career goals

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men's player in history to score 900 career goals after finding the back of the net in Portugal's home Nations League game against Croatia on Thursday.

Ronaldo put his side 2-0 up at the Estadio da Luz in the 34th minute when he got on the end of a Nuno Mendes cross with a tap-in volley from close range, before falling to the ground looking emotional at reaching another milestone.

"It means a lot," Ronaldo said after the match. "It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally."

"It was emotional because it's a milestone," he added. "It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals. It's a unique milestone in my career."

Argentina's Lionel Messi, second in the all-time scorer's list, has bagged 859 career goals.

Breakdown of Ronaldo’s 900 goals

Real Madrid - 450

Ronaldo scores a goal for Real Madrid. AFP

Manchester United - 145

Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal for Manchester UnitedAFP

Portugal - 131

Portugal's Ronaldo reacts during a match.Reuters

Juventus - 101

Ronaldo scored 101 goals for Italian club Juventus.AFP

Al-Nassr - 68

Ronaldo celebrates after scoring for Saudi club Al-NassrReuters

Sporting CP – 5

Ronaldo also played for Sporting CP at the beginning of his career. Facebook/SportingCP

1,000 goals is Ronaldo’s next target

Ronaldo is no mood of slowing down any time soon as his next target is scoring 1,000 goals.

"I want to reach 1,000 goals," he told his former Man United teammate Rio Ferdinand for his YouTube channel recently. "If I don't have any injuries, this for me is the most important [thing], I want that. For me, the best mark that I can have in football is to reach, first, 900 goals. After, my challenge is to be at 1,000 goals."

The 39-year-old is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, given his long list of honors. He has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or five times along with five UEFA Champions League titles. Ronaldo also won the UEFA European Championship with Portugal in 2016.