Cristiano Ronaldo has reached 100 Premier League goals after netting for Manchester United against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
The 37-year-old bought his 100th Premier League title in 19 years after his first appearance in the tournament while sweeping the ball from Nemanja Matic.
Ronaldo’s goal put United back in the competition after they found themselves 2-0 up following goals from Nuno Tavares and Buka Saka.
It came at the end of a difficult week for Ronaldo, who confirmed the loss of his son on Monday and then missed out on United’s defeat to Liverpool the next day.
Having scored all those goals with United colors, Ronaldo becomes the fourth player to reach the club’s historic spot, along with former teammates Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs.
Ronaldo has scored 16 goals since returning to Old Trafford despite the club having endured a difficult season.
The United midfielder has already scored 84 goals in the competition before moving to Real Madrid in 2009, with his excellent goal-scoring campaign coming in 2007-08 as the Red Devils lift the Premier League and Champions League trophies.
Having scored 31 goals in that outstanding campaign, he is still one of five players to score 30 goals in a single Premier League season, alongside Alan Shearer, Andy Cole, Luis Suarez and Mohamed Salah.
Despite United’s struggles this season, Ronaldo has continued to make history since returning to the club.
The Portuguese striker scored two goals in his second club game against Newcastle United last September, 12 years and 124 days after scoring his last Premier League goal in May 2009, the second longest gap between any player’s strike in history (after Matt Jackson’s gap). 13 years and 187 days between 1993 and 2006).
Ronaldo has scored two hat-tricks in the competition since turning 37 in February, when he won 3-2 at Tottenham and Norwich City. Those games made him just the third player 37 years or older to score more goals in a Premier League game behind Teddy Sheringham and Graham Alexander, and the second to do so more than once (Alexander also twice).
He is one of four players to score at least 100 goals in two major European leagues, and has reached Real Madrid’s historic spot in LaLiga. United teammates Edinson Cavani (Ligue 1, Serie A), Gonzalo Higuain (LaLiga, Serie A) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ligue 1, Serie A) are among those on the special list.
While Ronaldo’s future may be unclear if United miss out on a place in the top four, the striker will be looking to manage his goals to reach his final World Cup match in Qatar later this year.
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