Gary Neville was stunned when hearing about Cristiano Ronaldo’s insane amount of career goals.
The 2024 European Championships are well underway, with almost every team having played their first two group stage matches.
Portugal remain one of the favourites to win the tournament, after winning both of their opening fixtures against Czechia and Turkey.
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Leading the line in both games, was Cristiano Ronaldo, who has captained the Portuguese national team since 2003.
Ronaldo has been a vital part of Portugal’s success, including in Euro 2016 where they defeated France in the final.
Yet, ahead of the game, Gary Neville was shocked when he heard the total number of goals that the striker has scored for club and country across his 21-year senior career.
Speaking on ITV, Neville said: “I can’t believe what I’ve just heard, 895 goals for club and country. It’s not right that.
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“I obviously knew he’d scored a few goals but honestly his professionalism, he’s never taken a chance once at any point in his career with his preparation, he’s a phenomenon and one of the greatest that we’ll ever see.
“His dedication and his determination to win is unbelievable and 895 goals is bordering on illegal.”
Neville played alongside Ronaldo for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009 and he insisted that he remained a complete professional despite his youth.
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“Even in his early days where he was erratic with his performance, he had that determination in him to be the very best,” Neville added.
“He was one of the very first players I remember when you think about the collective, we always talk about the team, he wanted to be the best player in the world, he said publicly that he wanted to win the ballon D’or
“And he knew that if he was the Ballon D’or player that the team would win as well. He’s got such confidence and what he’s done is off the scale.”
Of course, Ronaldo went on to win five Ballon D’or awards and holds the record for the most nominations with 18.
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Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gary Neville, Portugal, Euro 2024, Manchester United, Ballon d'Or, Football
Ben McCrum