Cristiano Ronaldo created more history as he became the highest assist provider in the history of the Euros with 7 when he made a pass for Bruno Fernandes to score in Portugal’s 3-0 rout of Turkey on Saturday.
The Selecao who were already leading 2-0 at half time, courtesy of a Bernardo Silva strike and an own goal by Samet Akaydin, made it 3-0 after Ronaldo chose to pass to Bruno in the 56th minute even after having the goalkeeper at his mercy.
On Tuesday, Ronaldo became the first player to feature at six European Championship tournaments when he captained Portugal to a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in their opening game.
7 – As well as being the highest goalscorer in UEFA European Championship history, Cristiano Ronaldo now also has the most assists (7) on record (since 1968) in the competition. Inevitable. #TURPOR #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/vu5JJxqhEU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 22, 2024
The 39-year-old Ronaldo, who made his tournament debut at Euro 2004 where Portugal reached the final, already had the records for the most goals (14) at the tournament, while he extended his appearance record to 26 games. He helped Portugal win the title at Euro 2016.
He warmed up for this edition with two goals as Portugal defeated Ireland 3-0 in its final preparation games.
Ronaldo was the joint-top scorer at Euro 2020 with five goals — the same as Czech forward Patrik Schick. Ronaldo previously scored against the Czech Republic at the 2008 and 2012 editions of the tournament.
Altogether, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has 130 goals in 208 games for Portugal since making his debut as an 18-year-old under Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari in August 2003.
Ronaldo just finished the club season setting a goal-scoring record 35 goals in the Saudi Pro League for runner-up Al-Nassr. He had an action-packed season, with four hat tricks and one red card. He was also suspended for an obscene gesture in February at Al-Shabab fans who were chanting longstanding rival Lionel Messi’s name.
