Top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has already made history.
He joined the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame 2023 after smashing plenty of records both on and off the pitch, forever shaping the world of football.
In 2022, after his 196th match for Portugal, Ronaldo equalled the record for the most international football caps by an individual (male), a title he shared with Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
A year later, in March 2023, the player made history by breaking his own record and surpassing Al-Mutawa, with a total of 198 giving him the most international caps EVER.
This incredible number has been achieved between 20 August 2003 and 26 March this year.
Tonight, 20 June 2023, Ronaldo returned to the pitch for his memorable, history-changing 200th game.
As Portugal faced Iceland, Ronaldo led his team through an intense match that ended with a 1-0 victory for Portugal.
On the occasion, he also celebrated his incredible achievement with a Guinness World Records certificate.
"Triumph with a special flavor. Not only for the day it was, for the tribute, for the 200th game... To top it off with a goal, I can't ask for more. It was spectacular, unforgettable, for everything it generated around the game. I have to thank to the Icelanders, to the federation for the surprise. And to Guinness World Records!" - Cristiano Ronaldo
During the nail-biting match, the footballing GOAT was presented with an official Guinness World Records certificate to celebrate his achievements. The emotional moment was forever captured by a Reel that Ronaldo shared on Instagram.
Originally, Ronaldo equalled Al-Mutawa’s record during the World Cup quarter-final match that Portugal played against Morocco in June 2022.
That same year, Ronaldo kept smashing records during the World Cup.
As a testament to his ever-growing popularity, at the very beginning of the tournament, he became the first person with 500 million followers on Instagram.
But his incredible achievement is also an occasion to glance back at the very beginning of Ronaldo's career: now an internationally celebrated athlete with several records in the bag and coveted by many international clubs, he debuted professionally in 2002, at the age of 17.
Known as the man to watch, Ronaldo initially debuted under Portugal’s banner during a friendly match against Kazakhstan way back in August 2003.
Only the following year, he would go on to score his first international goal when, on the pitch of UEFA EURO 2004, he found the net against Greece during a group-stage match.
Despite the disappointment after Portugal lost the final match - once again against Greece, the hosts and surprise winners - that memorable year marked the beginning of a shiny career for the Madeira-born player.
At EURO 2016, Ronaldo once again led his team all the way to the top. Despite him being injured on the field and forced to take an early exit, Portugal didn't give up and, thanks to a 1-0 victory against France, the team raised the coveted trophy.
That marked the country’s first major international title.
After netting in Portugal’s opening game against Ghana, he also bagged the record for the first player to score in five different World Cups (male).
Furthermore, that match saw Ronaldo equal the record for the most appearances in FIFA World Cup tournaments by a player (male), racking up a total of five appearances. He shares the title with Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Andres Guardado (Mexico) and Lionel Messi (Argentina).
As a legend of football and with plenty of enthusiastic fans all over the world, Ronaldo holds a plethora of social media records and is the overall most followed sportsperson on the internet.
He boasts the record for most followers for an athlete on Twitter, and his Instagram account @Cristiano counts the overall most followers on Instagram for an athlete.
He is also the first person with 500 million followers on Instagram, a record that he broke in 2022.
And his fame knows no bounds as he continues to be the overall most followed Instagram account.
In March 2023, he broke his own record as the most followed person on Instagram with a whopping number of 565,143,282 followers. He has held the record since 2018, when he surpassed the singer Selena Gomez.
Reconfirming his unmatched importance in the world of international sports, Ronaldo’s English Wikipedia page is also the overall most viewed Wikipedia page for an athlete (male). He has continuously secured the record since 2016.
And he once again made history in September 2021 when, during the very last minutes of the game against Ireland, the cap-leading player found the net twice and broke the record for the most goals scored in international football matches (male).
After that success, Ronaldo wrote on his record-breaking Instagram account: "Thank you to the Guinness World Records. Always good to be recognized as a world record breaker. Let’s keep trying to set the numbers even higher!💪🏽"
At this point, it seems clear that Ronaldo is set on breaking more records during his iconic career.
We can’t wait to see his next moves!
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