Marco van Basten recently came under fire for his comments on Cristiano Ronaldo. This led to the fans comparing their career stats. The results, however, exceed the Dutchman’s expectations.
Cristiano Ronaldo is far ahead of the Dutch legend in terms of career goals. The former Real Madrid player has scored 849 goals throughout his career in 1178 appearances.
Van Basten, on the other hand, had scored 301 goals during his career, before he was forced to announce his retirement due to an ankle injury.
Moreover, according to the stats, Ronaldo has scored 308 goals without using his strong foot in his career which is a lot more than Van Basten‘s whole career goals total. Therefore, fans believe there is no point in comparing the former Madrid star with the Dutchman.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals WITHOUT using his strong foot than Van Basten has scored goals in his entire career. 🤯
No wonder he was being salty in his latest interview. 😂 pic.twitter.com/maoG580vQE
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) August 31, 2023
One fan shared how the 38-year-old is better than both his rival Messi and the former AC Milan player. They wrote, “Ronaldo is better than both Messi and Van Basten.” Another fan shared, “Now tell us who had to retire at 27 and what their stats and trophies were when they were both 27.”
Despite being in the twilight of his incredible career, Cristiano Ronaldo is still regarded as one of the best players in the world and is expected to play in the upcoming Euro Cups in 2024 for his national team.
Marco van Basten believes his soccer career was better than Cristiano Ronaldo
Former Ajax player Van Basten believes his soccer career achievements come close to Ronaldo’s achievements. Moreover, he also believes that he would have been able to surpass the Al-Nassr superstar had he continued his career.
The former striker shared, “Players like me nowadays? Lewandowski looks a bit like me. Cristiano Ronaldo, I think I get close to that.“
He further went on to compare himself with the 38-year-old: “But I would have liked to see how things turned out if I could have played until the age of 38, I think I would have been better.”
🗣️ Marco Van Basten: “I think if you compare my career with Cristiano Ronaldo’s career until I had to quit (injury), I got very close to him, and maybe mine was even better, but I was unable to continue my career after that.”
Marco van Basten at 28:
🥇3 Ballon d’Ors
🏆2… pic.twitter.com/NFLfFKKs91— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) August 23, 2023
During his career, the Dutchman was undoubtedly one of the highest-rated players. He was also one of the goal scorers in the 1988 Netherlands Euro final win against the Soviet Union. The player has also won three Ballon d’Or awards in his comparatively short soccer career.
The Al-Nassr star, on the other hand, is nowhere close to stopping. Moreover, he recently won the Arab Cup with his club and is currently focusing on the AFC Champions League and the Saudi Pro League in hopes of bringing another trophy to the club this season.