When will Cristiano Ronaldo become all-time leading international goalscorer? We crunch the numbers

The Portuguese is 13 goals behind Iranian Ali Daei – so when will he reach the milestone?

Harry Latham-Coyle
Thursday 14 November 2019 22:21 GMT
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Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring
Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring

Cristiano Ronaldo moved on to 96 international goals after a hat-trick against Lithuania.

This means the forward is now only 13 goals behind men’s international record holder Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals in 149 games for Iran before retiring in 2006.

It now seems entirely a matter of when rather than if Ronaldo passes the Iranian to become the record holder – indeed, given his drive, it is becoming likely.

He has scored his 96 goals in 161 games – which equates to 0.60 goals per match. If Ronaldo holds that rate, he would require 22 games to equal Daei’s record.

However, Ronaldo’s scoring rate has improved in the last couple of years, with coach Fernando Santos using him in a more central role and surrounding and supporting him with creativity.

For example, Ronaldo has 15 goals in his last 11 Portugal games, a rate of 1.36 goals per game. If Ronaldo continues at this pace, he would require only 10 more appearances to overhaul Daei.

He could further boost his tally ahead of Euro 2020, if Ronaldo capitalises further on the weaker defences Portugal’s fellow Group B combatants possess.

With friendlies and warm-up games also to come before the major tournament begins, Ronaldo could well be closing in on Daei’s record by the start of Euro 2020 could bring seven more games if Portugal again reach the final.

Therefore, given his recent scoring rate, it is quite conceivable that Ronaldo could break the international goal scoring record during the Euros, possibly in the final.

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