Star Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was recently honoured with the Platinum Quinas award from the Portuguese Football Federation at the Quinas de Ouro Gala 2024 for achieving the amazing feat of 200 International caps with the Portugal National Football Team. Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 aged 18 and this makes him history's most-capped male player. He has been playing for more than two decades now and still competes with youngsters with the same hunger he had in the first day. After he received the prestigious award for being an 'Outstanding Ambassador of Portugal', Ronaldo also reflected on being the most capped player and his future ambitions of scoring 1000 International goals.  Cristiano Ronaldo Honoured With Platinum Quinas 'Outstanding Ambassador of Portugal' Award at  Quinas de Ouro Gala 2024 For Achieving Feat Of 200 International Appearances.

As reported by Diario AS, Cristiano Ronaldo started his speech in the award function by thanking the Portugal Football Federation. “Thank you to the Federation for this award and for acknowledging the long road I’ve traveled with the national team. I’m very proud, very fulfilled. it’s been a lot of hard work. It’s funny—I joined the team at 18 with just a dream to make my debut. Then I reached 25 caps, then 50... At one point, I thought, ‘Why not 100?’ It felt like such a milestone, three digits. And so I began aiming for 150, then 200, and I can’t describe how great that feels".

Ronaldo used the moment to address fellow players, stressing the honor of representing one’s country. “I want to say, especially to my teammates, that after playing for so many clubs, winning trophies, Champions Leagues, Ballon d’Ors, FIFA awards... there’s nothing greater than representing your country. Representing your entire nation, your culture, your children, your mother, your father, your closest friends. I’m often disappointed by players who do not want to play for the national team.”

Reflecting on Portugal’s potential, Ronaldo urged his compatriots to see the nation’s strength beyond its size. “People sometimes call Portugal a small country. But Portugal is a big country. We have to think that way. No matter our size, we have it all—amazing infrastructure, incredible stadiums, brilliant coaches. The talent in our players, the stars we have—just a few rough edges to smooth out, and we’ll be great. I believe Portugal will become great, not just in soccer but in other sports too.” Cristiano Ronaldo Reacts After Winning Platinum Quinas 'Outstanding Ambassador of Portugal' Award at the Quinas de Ouro Gala 2024, Says 'There is Still A Lot to Achieve' (See Post).

Finally Ronaldo opened up on his ambition of scoring 1000 career goals across club and country. “Honestly, I’m the one to blame for this. In life, in some things—football included—I now live in the moment. I think that’s the most important thing. We don’t need to think long-term; I can’t think long-term anymore. That’s it—living in the moment, enjoying it. I said publicly I wanted to reach 1,000 goals, and now people think that’s all I want. My aim now is to live in the moment, see what my legs can give me. If I hit 1,000, fantastic; if not, well... no one has scored more goals than me anyway,” he concluded.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2024 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).