Honour to have Cristiano Ronaldo break my record in international football: Ali Daei

Former Iranian striker Ali Daei has said that he would be honoured to witness Cristiano Ronaldo break his record of scoring most goals in international football as the Portuguese stalwart moves close to his mammoth tally of 109.

Ronaldo, who earlier became the second men to touch century of goals in international football, has scored 102 goals in 168 matches since his debut in 2003.

Daei said that he would congratulate Ronaldo directly whenever he breaks his record while adding the Portuguese forward will break his record while reminding him he still has seven goals to reach the milestone. 

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“I would congratulate him directly,” Daei was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. “Ronaldo has scored 102 goals with Portugal so far and will beat my record, I’m sure, but he still has seven goals to go.

“It would be a real honour for me if a player of his calibre could beat my record. Ronaldo is one of the best players not only of this era, but ever. He’s an absolute phenomenon.”

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Daei, who captained Iran, reached the 109-goal tally in 148 appearances before retiring in 2006. Ronaldo will have a chance to close the gap when he takes the field for Portugal against Croatia in their final UEFA Nations League group stage match on Tuesday.

Ronaldo has been in phenomenal form for both Juventus and Portugal since returning negative for COVID-19. He had remained coronavirus positive for a couple of weeks and was self-isolating in his home before coming back and show his goal-scoring prowess again.