'Siuuu': Portugal's Ronaldo 'proud' to be most capped men's international footballer

Cristiano Ronaldo already has the most career and international goals. He has achieved another historic feat, as he is now the most-capped international footballer, and he is "proud" of his latest achievement.

Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo continues to serve his national team despite his horrendous outing in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, with his side getting ousted in the quarterfinal. However, new Navigators' head coach Roberto Martinez has shown faith in the striker, as he continues to represent in the ongoing UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers.

Portugal was up against Liechtenstein at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday, which the hosts wholly dominated, besting it 4-0, which included strikes from Joao Cancelo (eighth) and Bernardo Silva (47th). However, Ronaldo was also on the scoring sheet, hammering a brace in the 51st and 63rd to seal the deal.

20 years and counting
While his goal-scoring spree for Portugal has continued for over 20 years, since 2004, Ronaldo's participation in the match was more significant, as it happened to be his 197th appearance for the Navigators. Consequently, he has become the most-capped international footballer of all time, going past the previous feat held by Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait. While the latter is still an active footballer, he will continue the battle for the same with the Al-Nassr forward.

The other active footballer chasing the record is Andrés Guardado of Mexico. In the meantime, Ronaldo expressed his delight at attaining the feat, as he took to his social media accounts to compose, "Such good feelings to play and score again for our National Team and in a special stadium for me. Proud to be the most international player ever 🙌🏽".

Speaking ahead of the game, Ronaldo had said, "My biggest wish is to be able to take Portugal as high as possible. I will always play my part when needed. Earning records is always a positive thing, and it motivated me. I like to break records and will now break another special one. It makes me very proud. But, beyond [Thursday], I still have plenty of games left. Let's see if the coach still wants to count on me to be available."