Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to his late father, José Dinis Aveiro, after the forward dramatically opened his goal-scoring account in the 2024/25 edition of the AFC Champions League Elite, marking his 904th career goal.
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The 39-year-old striker curled a sublime left-footed finish into the back of the net in the 78th minute as Al Nassr beat Al Rayyan 2-1 at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. In celebration of the goal, Ronaldo pointed to the sky in a touching tribute to his late father.
“Today's goal has a different flavor, and I wish my father was alive because today is his birthday.” On the game and his own showing, he added, "It was a tough game, and we knew that we were prepared for it... and we managed to win. "I'm enjoying playing football now, and I know I don't have much time left on the pitch."
Ronaldo's father, Jose Dinis Aveiro, died of an alcoholism-related liver condition at 52 years old in September 2005, when Ronaldo was 20.
Ronaldo has scored a total of 904 career goals. Since his move to Saudi Club Al Nassr, he has scored 71 goals and provided 71 assists in 78 appearances for the club.
