Cristiano Ronaldo became the most-capped man in history on Thursday, when he made his 197th international start.
Cristiano Ronaldo established record of most capped on Thursday when he made his 197th international appearance for Portugal against Liechtenstein, scoring two goals to bring his international tally to 120.
Ronaldo surpassed Spain’s Sergio Ramos’ previous European record of 180 appearances in 2021, while his most recent international appearance, against Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, brought him level with Bader Al-Mutawa’s previous world record of 196 appearances for Kuwait. The 38-year-old is now on his own.
Europe’s runaway top scorer in international games, Ronaldo moved beyond the 100-goal mark in September 2020, equalled Ali Daei’s world record of 109 strikes during UEFA EURO 2020, and eclipsed it on European Qualifiers duty on 1 September 2021. The 2016 European champion Ronaldo is a year older than his ex-Madrid colleague Ramos but still seeking to add to his tally.
The 38-year-old moved ahead of Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa after starting in Portugal’s 4-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win against Liechtenstein, which was Roberto Martinez’s first game in charge.
Ronaldo now has 197 caps for his country with his latest appearance coming at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, the home of his first professional club — Sporting Lisbon.
The former Real Madrid stalwart currently occupies the No.1 spot among the top goalscorers in men’s international football. Iranian legend Ali Daei is second with 109 goals, closely followed by Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Last year, Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cup editions after scoring against Ghana in Portugal’s campaign opener.
Portugal was drawn alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Slovakia in Group J of Euro qualifiers. Roberto Martinez’ men will next travel to Luxembourg on March 27.
