Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo gestures as he leaves the pitch at half time during a Group F match between Georgia and Portugal at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
MADRID— Cristiano Ronaldo approaches his 40th birthday with the same confidence and self-esteem as he has always boasted throughout his successful career.
Ronaldo, the former Real Madrid star who now plays in Saudi Arabia, will turn 40 on Wednesday and apparently has no doubt about who should be considered the best football player ever.
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“I am the greatest scorer in history,” Ronaldo said in an interview with Spanish television channel La Sexta. “Although I am not left-footed, I am in the top 10 in history for goals scored with the left foot. These are numbers, I am the most complete player who has ever existed.
READ: Ronaldo says retirement won’t be a ‘difficult decision’
“I play well with my head, I take good free kicks, I am fast, I am strong, I jump… I have never seen anyone better than me.”
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The Portugal star holds most scoring records in men’s international soccer, including most appearances with 217 and most goals with 135.
He had said it before, more than once, that he feels he will go out as the best ever in the history of soccer. Whenever he was asked about the discussion of who is better, him or Lionel Messi, he always praised the Argentine but ended siding with himself.
Ronaldo’s most recent comments prompted a few reactions in the soccer world.
“I have a lot of respect for Cristiano and I don’t have to analyze his opinions. It’s what he thinks. I have my own thoughts and it isn’t that,” said Javier Mascherano, a former teammate of Messi and his current coach at Inter Miami.
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