The 39-year-old superstar scored a spectacular winner in the 2-1 victory over Al Rayyan in the AFC Champions League, marking yet another significant milestone in his illustrious career. With this goal, Cristiano Ronaldo has now tallied more goals in his thirties than he did in his twenties, achieving an impressive total of 441 goals in 523 matches since turning 30.
However, on Monday, it was a different birthday that Ronaldo chose to honor. Known for his iconic ‘Siuu’ celebration, he displayed an emotional moment as he pointed skyward after his goal found the top corner. After the match, he reflected on the significance of the moment, saying, “Today’s goal has a different flavor… I wish my father was alive because today is his birthday.” Ronaldo’s father, José Dinis Aveiro, passed away at the age of 51 in 2005, and yesterday would have been his 71st birthday.
Ronaldo was only 20 years old when he lost his father, who did not live to see his son rise to become one of the greatest footballers in history. Dinis, a soldier who served in Africa, struggled with alcohol issues, which led to a distant relationship between father and son. Ronaldo has previously opened up about their strained connection during an emotional interview with Piers Morgan. In that interview, he watched a clip of his father praising him on Norwegian television shortly before his death.
Upon seeing the footage, a tearful Ronaldo said, “I never saw that video. Unbelievable. I think the interview would be funny; I didn’t expect to cry. But I never saw these images. I have to have these images to show my family. I really don’t know my father 100 percent. He was a drunk person. I never spoke with him in a normal conversation. It was hard. To be the number one and he didn’t see anything, and he didn’t see me receive awards or see what I became.”
Ronaldo’s achievements include five Ballon d’Or awards, five Champions League titles, and the Euro 2016 championship, making him arguably the greatest goalscorer of all time. The goal he scored on Monday night was the 904th of his career. While Brazilian legend Pelé is officially credited with 1,281 goals by FIFA, it is widely recognized that many of those came in non-competitive matches.
As he approaches his 40th birthday on February 5, 2024, Ronaldo has no plans to retire. Instead, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star is focused on reaching his next landmark. “I want to reach 1,000 goals,” Ronaldo stated recently on his YouTube channel. “For me, it’s the best mark that I can have in football. After reaching 900 goals, my challenge is to hit 1,000. With one difference: all the goals I score have video proof, so I can prove that it’s real.”
