Related items

• Ronaldo's 900 goals 'an inspiration for football' – Martinez

  Portugal boss Roberto Martinez sees Cristiano Ronaldo's "incredible" achievement of 900 career goals as an "inspiration for football".

  Ronaldo netted his landmark goal on Thursday, scoring Portugal's winner in a 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.

  The 39-year-old was already the leading goalscorer in the history of the game.

  And Martinez feels nobody can put a limit on what Ronaldo is still able to achieve.

  "I don't think scoring 900 goals is easy. It's a historic achievement, incredible, an inspiration for football," Martinez said ahead of Portugal's clash with Scotland.

  "I don't think anyone can say that Cristiano can't do something. It's incredible what he's achieving, what he's doing in football.

  "For us, the goal is collective. That he helps the national team."

  Scotland lost 3-2 at home to Poland in their Nations League opener, but Martinez is expecting a fierce test on Sunday.

  "Our players know the intensity of British football. Scotland have that. A lot of intensity, fast attacks, experience. We know the difference, but Scotland are objective, vertical, but have the quality to keep the ball," Martinez said.

  "The last two games have shown that they want to win. They've lost their last few games after the 90th minute, they're objective, they've got top-class players. They're experienced and talented.

  "It's not just a British team, a physical team, but a team with lots of skills and the game will be very competitive. We've prepared for that."

• Cristiano Ronaldo scores 900th goal: The stats behind Portugal great's latest landmark

  Another match, another landmark for Cristiano Ronaldo.

  The five-time Ballon d'Or winner insisted he still has more to offer at the international level this week, and he brought up 900 career goals by netting in Portugal's Nations League Nations League opener versus Croatia.

  It was a typical poacher's finish that brought up Ronaldo's latest landmark, the forward beating his marker to Nuno Mendes' left-wing cross to sidefoot home and put Portugal 2-0 up inside the first half.

  Never one to rest on his laurels, Ronaldo will now surely be targeting the big 1,000, though Pele's FIFA-recognised figure of 1,281 goals will surely prove beyond the 39-year-old.

  As Ronaldo plots a route to four figures, we dive into the Opta data to look at how he reached his current total, highlighting the most interesting facts and figures.

  Ronaldo's 900th career goal was also his 131st in 213 appearances for Portugal, with both of those figures being all-time records both for the Selecao and for any male player on the international stage.

  The ultimate goal poacher, he has scored 109 of those from inside the penalty area, though only 20 have come from the penalty spot – he memorably missed his last spot-kick for the Selecao, versus Slovenia in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

  Ronaldo struggled at this year's tournament in Germany, where he had 23 shots but failed to find the net – the first time he has not scored at a major international competition. Only fellow Portugal great Deco has ever had more efforts at a single edition of the Euros without scoring, firing off 24 shots without success at the 2004 tournament.

   

  However, Ronaldo does boast 22 goals at the World Cup/Euros for Portugal overall, winning the Golden Boot with five strikes at Euro 2020, five years on from captaining the Selecao to their maiden trophy. Only two of those, though, have come in knockout matches – versus the Netherlands at Euro 2004 and Wales at Euro 2016.

  Still, Ronaldo's international legacy speaks for itself, and his achievements on the club stage are even more impressive.

  Ronaldo scored five times for boyhood club Sporting CP before leaving for Manchester United, for whom he plundered 145 goals across two separate spells.

  He has broken three figures with all but two of his clubs, netting 101 times for Juventus and being well on the way to doing so with Al-Nassr, for whom he has 68 goals. 

  It was at Real Madrid, however, where Ronaldo earned his goal machine tag, scoring exactly half his career goals (450) for Los Blancos and helping them win the Champions League four times.

  He is the leading goalscorer in Madrid's illustrious history, some 96 clear of former team-mate Karim Benzema (354), who represented the club 648 times, compared to Ronaldo's 438 appearances.

   

  Overall, Ronaldo has scored 573 of his goals with his favoured right foot, with 173 coming via his left and almost as many – 152 – coming via headers, with his aerial prowess becoming increasingly notable throughout his career.  

  What about dead balls? Ronaldo has converted 164 penalties for club and country, including a spot-kick in the 2014 Champions League final versus Atletico Madrid.

  Ronaldo's free-kick taking has been an area targeted by those looking to do down on his achievements at times, but he has scored 64 direct free-kick goals throughout his career, the latest coming in a 4-1 win over Al-Fayha in the Saudi Pro League before the turn of the month.

  Where, then, do Ronaldo's achievements rank versus those of his peers? Drum roll please... Ronaldo is currently some 62 goals ahead of his great rival Lionel Messi, who has 838 career strikes for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina.  

  With Ronaldo firing on all cylinders in Saudi Arabia and looking unlikely to give up the ghost at international level any time soon, few would bet against him extending that advantage before the two greats hang up their boots.

   

• Hayes: Men's game still not ready for female coach

  Emma Hayes believes men's football is still not ready for the prospect of female coaches, saying there is much work to be done to bring about true equality in the game.

  Hayes won seven Women's Super League titles during a glittering 12-year spell in charge of Chelsea before leaving to take charge of the United States in May.

  Like England coach Sarina Wiegman, Hayes has sometimes been suggested as somebody who could make the transition from the women's game to men's football, but no female coach has ever taken charge of a team in England's top four tiers on a permanent basis.

  Forest Green Rovers made Hannah Dingley caretaker manager last year while in the fourth tier, only to overlook her and go through three permanent bosses – including former Watford striker Troy Deeney – as they dropped out of the Football League.

  Speaking during an appearance on the Today programme on BBC, Hayes said barriers remain in place to prevent women succeeding in the men's game.

  "I think you need to get more owners in to ask them that question, because they're the people you have to ask that question to. I'm not the one in charge of that," Hayes said.

  Asked whether club owners are ready to appoint a female coach, Hayes said: "Of course they're not, otherwise it would have happened by now.

  "I've said this a million times over – you can find a female pilot, a female doctor, a female lawyer, a female banker, but you can't find a female coach working in the men's game, leading men. 

  "It just shows you how much work there is to be done."

  Hayes has been nominated for the Women's Coach of the Year prize at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, which will take place on October 28.

  Wiegman, Filipa Patao, Arthur Elias, Jonatan Giraldez and Hayes' Chelsea successor Sonia Bompastor are also in the running.