Malmo did their best to pull off a major upset and keep Real Madrid off the scoreboard in the first half, but Cristiano Ronaldo would not be denied from his place in history as he recorded his 500th career goal in the first 29 minutes of their Champions League bout.
With Isco getting a clean break towards the goal, he decided to flip it over to Ronaldo rather than make the shot himself, and moments later history was made:
That goal did more than give Real Madrid a 1-0 halftime lead over Malmo, it marked the 500th career goal for Ronaldo, as well as his 81st Champions League goal (also a record) and leaves him just one goal shy of Raul as Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer with 322.
At 500 career club and international goals the former Manchester United star is just a couple hundred away from the incomparable Pele on the all-time scoring list. With a yearly average of more than 50 over the last 5 years, it’s an achievement that feels reachable all of a sudden.
At age 30 and with plenty of tread left on his tires, there’s no reason to believe Cristiano Ronaldo can’t finish his career in the same conversation as Pele as one of the greatest goal scorers the world has ever seen.
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