After spurring Juventus a 3-1 win against Cagliari in a Serie A tie earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo shared a statement that discussed his future aspirations and honour of beating Pele’s goalscoring record.
Ronaldo achieved the feat in spectacular fashion, scoring a first-half hat-trick to leave Cagliari hopeless in their efforts to try and take points from the Italian top-flight clash.
The 36-year-old added that he did not wish to acknowledge the achievement after he passed the 757 mark – which is widely recognised as Pele’s official mark, as he found otherwise.
Ronaldo accounted for the South American forward’s nine goals for the Sao Paulo State Team, whilst also factoring in a goal for the Brazilian Military Team, which leaves Pele’s mark at 767 in his eyes.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner came into Sunday level with Pele, but now sits on 770 official goals.
Ronaldo also briefly outlined his intent for the future, subtly dismissing talk of a Juventus exit this summer by stating that there’s still a ‘lot to win’ with the Bianconeri as well as the Portugal team.
See More: Video: Cristiano Ronaldo should have been sent off for reckless studded challenge on keeper before netting first-half hat-trick
Cristiano Ronaldo: “I can’t wait for the next games and challenges, the next records and trophees. Believe me, this story is still far from being over. The future is tomorrow and there’s still a lot to win for Juventus and Portugal”. ?? #CR7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 14, 2021
Juventus chief Fabio Paratici also echoed this stance before the matchup:
Juventus director Fabio Paratici to Sky Sport about Cristiano Ronaldo-Real Madrid rumours: “Cristiano will be the future of Juventus, absolutely. I’m sure about it. It’s a privilege to have Cristiano. We enjoy him, and we’re very happy to have this kind of champions with us”. ??
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 14, 2021
Take a look at the post in full below:
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This marks a nice end to a troubled week for the all-time great, with Ronaldo being subjected to fierce criticism for his role in Juventus’ Champions League exit against Porto during mid-week.