The 38-year-old, who was dropped from the Portuguese
starting XI during the World Cup in Qatar last year, won a 197th cap for his
country.
“Records are my motivation,” Ronaldo told reporters on
Wednesday.
“I want to become the most capped player in history. That
would make me proud.
“But it doesn’t stop there, I still want to be called up
very often.”
Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003 and became the
first man to score in five World Cups last year before Portugal lost to Morocco
in the quarter-finals.
He is currently playing for Saudi club Al Nassr after an
acrimonious end to his second spell at Manchester United.
Ronaldo’s appearance off the bench in the defeat by Morocco
equalled the previous mark of 196 caps held by Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
He left the pitch in tears following Portugal’s shock 1-0
loss against the North Africans.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner will also be hoping to
increase his record tally of 118 international goals as Portugal begin their
qualification campaign for next year’s European Championship in Germany.
Since leaving Europe, Ronaldo has scored nine goals in 10
matches for Al Nassr.
He was replaced as the starting striker by Goncalo Ramos
during the World Cup, with the Benfica youngster scoring a hat-trick in a
last-16 win over Switzerland.
But veteran coach Fernando Santos stepped down following the
tournament and new boss Roberto Martinez has immediately put his faith in
Ronaldo, who also captains the side.
There were questions over whether his 20-year international
career had ended in Qatar as Ronaldo will be 39 by the time Euro 2024 kicks
off.
But Martinez, who left his role as Belgium coach after the
World Cup, has strongly defended his decision to keep Ronaldo in the fold.
“I do not look at the age,” said Martinez when he announced
his first squad last week.
The Spaniard added his squad announcement was the “starting
point” for Euro 2024, suggesting Ronaldo is likely to be involved if Portugal
qualify for the tournament.
Ronaldo adds the international appearance landmark to an
impressive list of individual records.
He is the leading goalscorer in European Championship finals
with 14 goals and has netted a record 140 times in the Champions League.
Ronaldo has also finished as the top-scorer in three of
Europe’s top five leagues — in England, Spain and Italy.
Portugal will visit Luxembourg in their second Group J
qualifier on Sunday.
They have also been drawn alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Iceland and Slovakia.
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