5th June, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo has strengthened his position as Europe’s all-time leading international marksman and now has four more goals than Ferenc Puskás, the previous record holder.
After scoring the opener in Portugal’s 2018 FIFA World Cup game against Morocco, Ronaldo moved above Puskás. He has now added another three goals to his tally in the UEFA Nations League semi-final against Switzerland.
The forward moved above Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto (80) in the global rankings in March 2018, before going ahead of Puskás (84).
Iran’s Ali Daei (109) is the only player in world football to have outscored him.
How Ronaldo’s international goals have come
Home or away?
Forty-three of Ronaldo’s strikes have come at home (including at UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in Portugal), 30 away and 15 on neutral territory.
Win, lose or draw?
Ronaldo has scored in 59 games, with Portugal going on to win 49 of them. They have drawn five and lost five.
One, two; a one, two, three, four
Ronaldo has hit six hat-tricks, plus one four-goal salvo. There have been 14 doubles, with the remaining 38 goals coming in single file.
Favourite opponents
Five of Ronaldo’s haul have come against each of Andorra, Armenia, Latvia and Sweden, with four apiece versus Estonia, Faroe Islands and the Netherlands. He has never struck against France, Germany, Italy or England.
Some of Europe’s all-time top international goal scorers
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 88 goals in 157 appearances
Ferenc Puskás (Hungary & Spain) – 84 in 89
Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 75 in 68
Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 71 in 137
Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 68 in 62
Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland) – 68 in 146
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) – 62 in 116
Imre Schlosser (Hungary) – 59 in 68
David Villa (Spain) – 59 in 98
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – 56 in 104
Jan Koller (Czech Republic) – 55 in 91
Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – 55 in 101
Joachim Streich (East Germany) – 55 in 102
Wayne Rooney (England) – 53 in 120
Poul Nielsen (Denmark) – 52 in 38
Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark) – 52 in 112
Thierry Henry (France) – 51 in 123
Hakan Sükür (Turkey) – 51 in 112
Lajos Tichy (Hungary) – 51 in 72
Robin van Persie (Netherlands) – 50 in 102
*Culled from UEFA.com