Cristiano Ronaldo has broken a new record: he has reached 197 matches for Portugal and is the one who has played the most in the national team

Cristiano Ronaldo broke a new high in his career Thursday when he played his match number 197 with the Portugal teammaking him the player with the most holdings with an overall.

Cristiano, 38, returned this Thursday to represent his country in the duel between Portugal and Liechtenstein in Lisbon, in which the Spaniard Roberto Martínez put him as starter, and in this way surpassed the score that had the Kuwaiti Bader Al Mutawa . Furthermore, the striker scored two goals for the 4-0 victory.

Al Mutawa, also 38, is still active but has not been called up by the new Kuwait coach, the Portuguese Rui Bento, who at the time as a player coincided with a young Cristiano at Sporting de Portugal.

In his pre-match press conference, Cristiano Ronaldo said achieving this feat would make him “pretty proud”.

“Records? Let’s go for them, come on! I like breaking records (…) It’s also special, to be the most international player in history. I must confess that it’s something that makes me quite proud”he has declared.

Furthermore, he said: “I would like to have many more games for the national team ahead of me in my career.”

This sign extends the long list of records: he is the top scorer in history, with 830 goals (with the two this Thursday); of selections, with 120; and the Champions League, with 140.

He is also the player with the most appearances in the Champions League, with 183, ahead of the 177 of the Spaniard Iker Casillas or the 163 of Lionel Messiamong many other achievements.

After a difficult spell at Manchester United and a turbulent World Cup in Qatar, Cristiano seems to have regained form at his current club, Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, with whom he has already scored 9 goals in 10 games.