Cristiano Ronaldo approved note putting him alongside Pelé, Maradona: Comparing his international career with the icons
On the day Lionel Messi retired from international football to an entire country bowing down to him in gratitude, Cristiano Ronaldo had to issue a 1,700+ words statement to the Portuguese media regarding the fallout between him and Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, which led to his abrupt departure from the national team squad.
The stories of the international careers of these two icons of the game could not have been more contrasting, but this time around, the comparison is not limited to Messi alone, as Ronaldo has pulled up the names of two other greatest players of the game, Pele and Maradona, in the statement that he shared.
Ronaldo shared a list of statements that Jorge Jesus had agreed to say at a press conference, and among them was a line that has got football fans talking: “I made a mistake by putting someone of the stature of Pele or Diego Maradona on to warm up and then not putting him in the game. If it were today, I would not do it.”
Ronaldo is someone who has never shied away from claiming his position in the pantheon of the greats, be it with his performances or with his words, and this time again, he revealed that he does consider himself among the absolute elite in the history of the sport.
Since the comparison was made in the context of a Portugal match, it becomes imperative to see for oneself if Ronaldo indeed qualifies to be up there with the very best when it comes to his international career with Portugal.
Goals and appearances
Ronaldo stands out in terms of games played, having featured in 234 matches for Portugal thus far while compared to Pele and Maradona’s 91 games each for their respective national teams.
Ronaldo also leads in terms of goals. He has scored 146 goals for Portugal while Pele has scored 77 goals for Brazil and Maradona scored 34 goals for Argentina.
However, Pele wins in terms of goals per game, with his average being 0.846 to Ronaldo’s 0.624. Maradona falls behind ay 0.374.
World Cups
Ronaldo has made 28 appearances in the FIFA World Cup, with Pele has appeared 14 times and Maradona 21 times.
While Ronaldo (11) has scored more goals than Maradona (8) in World Cups, he is behind Pele (112) despite having played a significant number of more matches.
While Ronaldo has played in six different editions of the World Cup, he has never managed to reach the final or win the Golden Ball.
Pele reached the final on three occasions and won all three, while Maradona reached the final twice and won once. Maradona also has a FIFA World Cup Golden Ball to his name.
However, Ronaldo’s longevity is unparalleled and he has the world record when it comes to Most international caps and Most international goals. Ronaldo is also the highest scorer in international football ever.
Continental
Ronaldo won the 2016 Euro with Portugal and also led the team to the Nations League victory in 2019 and 2025. However, many do not consider Nations League to be a major trophy since it was created to replace most of the international friendlies played by European teams. While Pele did win the 1959 Copa America, Maradona did not get his hands on a continental title.
