Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese scored his 700th club goal against Everton to help his team win by 2-1. Ronaldo, who hasn’t had enough game time in the ongoing season, was introduced by the Dutchman in the 29th minute of the game to replace Anthony Martial.
Ten Hag said it was nice to note Ronaldo celebrating the personal milestone with the team. The Dutchman added that Ronaldo won’t have achieved this big landmark without the support of the team.
Ronaldo became the first player to score 700 club goals and it is an extraordinary achievement for the talisman.
The linchpin scored 450 goals for Real Madrid, 101 for Juventus, five for Sporting Lisbon, and a total of 144 goals for Manchester United (including both of his stints).
Erik Ten Hag said as quoted by the club’s official website, “There’s a lot of confidence and a good feeling in the squad at the moment. Firstly, Cristiano achieved his 700th career goal which is phenomenal and it was lovely to see on social media him celebrating that with his team…”
Ten Hag added: “It’s phenomenal. And football is [about the] team and we express this in a way – I think Cristiano, he knows we can’t do it without the team but I must say it’s a huge individual performance.”
“If you achieve this, it’s incredible. 700 goals for a club and not many players even achieve 700 games, and he scored 700 goals. So I’m really happy for him, really want to tell you that and I congratulate him.”
Manchester United will next take on Omonia in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday and Ronaldo will once again look to make a positive impact.