MALMV: Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed 500 career goals and tied Raul as Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer with a double in the Spanish giants 2-0 win away at Malmo on Wednesday.

“I am very happy. I thank all my teammates that have helped me achieve these figures and to beat the record at the biggest club in the world is an honour,” said Ronaldo.

The 30-year-old netted his 500th and 501st goals to propel Madrid to victory against the Swedish champions in the Group A clash, also extending his record Champions League tally to 82.

Additionally, the Portuguese star pulled level with Raul on 323 goals for Madrid despite playing over 400 games fewer for Los Blancos than the Spanish legend.

However, according to club records Ronaldo is already Madrid’s top scorer of all-time as they add a goal officially awarded by the Spanish league to Pepe in a 2-1 defeat of Real Sociedad in 2010.

“He has surpassed Raul, who was a phenomenon and that shows that he has scored a lot of goals,” added Madrid coach Rafael Benitez.

“Hopefully, he has no limits. I said he was unquestionable in the past and his merit is what he has done in far less time than the rest. That adds more value to what he has achieved.”

The double also moved Ronaldo ahead of Raul as the top goalscorer for the 10-time European champions in the Champions League with 67.

Ronaldo reached the 500-goal landmark in his 753rd game with 118 goals coming during his time at Manchester United, five while at boyhood club Sporting Lisbon and 55 for Portugal.

Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2015

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