After being eliminated from the 2023 typical squad, Ronaldo was honored by IFFHS as the player with the most matches of the 21st century (2001 to present).

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) has just announced the ranking of players who played the most matches in the 21st century. Cristiano Ronaldo was honored in the top position with 1,204 matches, an achievement unmatched by any other colleague. can touch.

On average, Ronaldo plays 52 matches per year and maintains this performance for 23 consecutive years. In football history, it is difficult to find a more enduring name than the superstar born in 1985.

Even with good physical condition at the age of 38, Ronaldo can completely surpass Rogerio Ceni (1,225 matches) to become the player with the most appearances in world football history.

Fans expect Ronaldo to end his career with a pair of records, the player with the most goals and the player with the most appearances in history. Currently, Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer in world football history with 873 goals since playing professionally.

Behind Ronaldo is Fabio, a Brazilian goalkeeper playing for Fluminense Club. He has played 1,156 matches over the past 20 years. Ranked third is Dani Alves with 1,056 matches. If he hadn’t been caught up in a rape scandal and had to go to jail, the Brazilian veteran could have completely improved his achievements.

Lionel Messi appears in fourth place, with 1,047 competitive matches between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2023.

In the top 10 players who played the most matches of the century, there is another compatriot of Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho. This veteran midfielder has played for a series of famous teams such as Sporting, Wolves, Monaco, and Porto. Currently, he is still persistently contributing to Braga, even though he is 37 years old.

Previously, Ronaldo was also honored by IFFHS as the best goalscorer in the 2023 calendar year with 54 goals, 2 more than Harry Kane and Kyian Mbappe. However, this organization removed him from the best squad to give positions to Kane, Haaland and Mbappe.

Ranking of the 10 players who played the most matches of the 21st century

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 1204
Fábio (Brazil) – 1156
Dani Alves (Brazil) – 1056
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 1047
Luka Modric (Croatia) – 1010
Joao Moutinho (Portugal) – 997
Iker Casillas (Spain) Nha) – 974
Sergio Ramos (Spain) – 974
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) – 953
Andrés Iniesta (Spain) – 949