Cristiano Ronaldo: All-time leading scorer in men's international football

How many goals has Ronaldo scored for Portugal?

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a world record 143 goals since making his Portugal debut in 2003. He is also the all-time leading appearance-maker in men's international football, having played 226 games, eclipsing the previous record of 196 held by Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa against Liechtenstein on 23 March 2023 – and marking the occasion with two goals. He has hit ten international hat-tricks, a record he shares with Lionel Messi.

When did Ronaldo break the international goals record?

Ronaldo broke the world record for international goals when he scored twice against the Republic of Ireland in Portugal's European Qualifier in Faro-Loulé on 1 September 2021, aged 36. He surpassed the existing world-record mark set by former Iran forward Ali Daei – the first man to claim a century of international goals. Lionel Messi joined the elite group on 28 March 2023.

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Has Ronaldo scored every year since making his Portugal debut?

Ronaldo didn't score in his first two appearances, in 2003, but has since registered for 22 years running, including 2025. That is good enough to constitute a world record, beating the mark of Robbie Keane, who struck every year for the Republic of Ireland between 1998 and 2016.

Leading international scorers

143 Cristiano Ronaldo* (Portugal) – 226 appearances
115 Lionel Messi* (Argentina) – 196 appearances
108 Ali Daei (Iran) – 148 appearances
95 Sunil Chhetri* (India) – 157 appearances
89 Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia) – 142 appearances
89 Romelu Lukaku* (Belgium) – 124 appearances
88 Robert Lewandowski* (Poland) – 163 appearances
85 Ali Mabkhout* (United Arab Emirates) – 115 appearances
84 Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) – 89 appearances

*still active

Data correct as of 17 November 2025