Cristiano Ronaldo has re-established his lead as the player who has appeared at the most Euros of any player in history.
The Portugal legend was named in the starting lineup for his country’s Group F clash with the Czech Republic on Tuesday evening, marking this the sixth separate European Championships he has played a part in.
By appearing in every Euros since 2004, Ronaldo had set the record at five in the last edition of the tournament, overtaking a fleet of players who had appeared in four, but former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric drew level with him by playing in Croatia’s 3-0 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
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Ronaldo has now set a brand-new record, however, with the 39-year-old earning his 208th cap in Portugal’s first game of Euro 2024 - the last of the first round of group games to be played.
The former Manchester United forward has also appeared in by far the most European Championship games of any player, with this his 26th outing in the quadrennial competition.
However, Ronaldo has been denied the right to call himself the oldest outfielder ever to appear at a Euros, despite being older than previous record-holder, Lothar Matthaus of Germany.
That’s because teammate Pepe is two years Ronaldo’s senior, and thus breaks the record not just for outfielders but for players in any position.
That means the centre-back has broken the record set by Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly in 2016 by about a year.
Ronaldo could yet claim the oldest ever Euros goalscorer record, however: the current holder is Austria’s Ivica Vastic, who scored against Portugal at Euro 2008 aged 38.
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