On a night of double celebration for the two icons, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made more footballing history.
With two goals against Liechtenstein, the Portuguese forward set a male record 197 appearances for his nation. Meanwhile, the Argentinean finished off his nation’s World Cup celebration by scoring his 800th goal with a signature free-kick into the top corner.
Ronaldo, who now plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr, also became the first player to score 100 goals in competitive internationals – and 120 in total.
Furthermore, the 38-year-old former star of Real Madrid and Manchester United has now scored for Portugal 20 times in a row since his debut at the Euro 2004 group stage.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner posted on Instagram: “Such good feelings about playing again and scoring for our national team and in a special stadium for me.
“Proud to be the most-capped player ever.”
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi then curled home a freekick in the 89th-minute in Buenos Aires afterwards.
Messi, 35, scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona and has netted 30 since joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
Ronaldo and Messi both scoring landmark free kicks on the same day.
This is football heritage 🐐 pic.twitter.com/WVcoakkRjQ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 24, 2023
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After his 99th goal for his country, an emotional Messi told the sold-out crowd at the Monumental Stadium: “I always dreamed of this moment, celebrating with you. To come to my country and lift a Copa America, the Finalissima and the greatest of all the trophies, the World Cup.
“I know this is our day to celebrate, but I don’t want to forget all the teammates who were here before, who also put everything on the field to achieve this and we were very close before.
“They deserve all the recognition of the Argentine fans because they always did their best for these colours.”
