Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s football superstar, is poised to become the first player to compete in six European championships as he prepares to light up the UEFA EURO 2024 stage in Germany.
The 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward represented Portugal in EURO 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, winning the 2016 title in France.
Ronaldo, who has represented his country since 2003, will be Portugal’s most experienced footballer after being nominated to the star-studded roster for the EURO 2024 tournament, which begins on June 14 in Germany.
Portugal, the former champions, will face the Czech Republic in their first EURO 2024 Group F match on June 18, followed by Turkey on June 22. They will face Georgia on June 26 in their last group match.
Most appearances and most goals
Ronaldo has 14 goals in the last five European championships and holds the record for the most appearances (25).
He has surpassed football legends such as Michel Platini of France and Alan Shearer of England in terms of goals scored. The only active player that comes close is France’s Antoine Griezmann.
Platini scored nine goals at the EUROs, while Shearer had seven.
Griezmann, a 33-year-old Atletico Madrid attacker, has seven goals in the European Championships and will compete in this year’s competition.
Ronaldo has also scored 41 goals in the European qualifiers, considerably outpacing Robbie Keane (23) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (19).
Including European Championship qualifications, Ronaldo has made 64 appearances, more than Italian Gianluigi Buffon (58) and Croatian Luka Modric.
New records are ahead.
If Ronaldo scores in EURO 2024, he would surpass Austria’s Ivica Vastic, who, at 38 years and 257 days, is the tournament’s oldest scorer.
If Portugal advances to the final, Ronaldo may break Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci’s record for the oldest player to score in a final (34 years 71 days) and German Jens Lehmann’s record for the oldest player to participate in a final (38 years 232 days).
If Portugal wins EURO 2024, Cristiano might beat Dutchman Arnold Muhren (37 years and 23 days) as the oldest player to
Ronaldo has donned the Portugal shirt 206 times in his 21-year national team career, surpassing Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa (196).
The seasoned hero is the highest-scoring national team player in football history, with 128 goals, ahead of Iran’s Ali Daei (108) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (106).