Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal to beat Luka Modrić in the Nations League veteran clash on Thursday.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo became the first man to reach the 900-goal mark in official matches for club and country by scoring in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Modric’s Croatia.

“It means a lot,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone that I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number because if I keep playing, it would happen naturally.”

Ronaldo found the net in the 34th minute at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon to put Portugal ahead 2-1, putting his hands on his head and dropping to his knees in celebration.

“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said. “It’s like any other milestone, but only me and the people around me know how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and mentally fit, to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”

It was Ronaldo’s 131st international goal.

He is coming off a disappointing performance at the European Championship, when he failed to score in all five of Portugal’s matches before being knocked out by France in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo could try to play until he is 40 and join Portugal for the 2026 World Cup, but he said on Thursday that it is not a priority for him.

“Portugal winning the Euro is like winning a World Cup,” Ronaldo said. “I’ve already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. I’m not motivated by that. I’m motivated by the joy of football and the records come by themselves.”

Ronaldo’s rival, Lionel Messi, won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

TO FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi

FIFA Men’s World Cup

Get more out of Cristiano Ronaldo Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more