New Delhi: Until Thursday night, Bader Al-Mutawa was the most capped men’s international player in football. The Kuwaiti international was however surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo as he marked his 197th outing for Portugal during the Euro 2024 qualifier 4-0 win against Liechtenstein. The 38-year-old marked outing with two goals on the night in Lisbon.
Al-Mutawa took to his social media to congratulate Ronaldo on his feat, “I’m very honored to have represented my country in 196 international matches and I’m grateful for the privilege being the most-capped men’s player. I’m glad that the record will now be passed on to Cristiano Ronaldo. You are truly a legend and an idol to every football player, I wish you the best of luck and many more amazing achievements.”
Ronaldo also responded to the Kuwait footballer, “Thank you for your kind words @bader_almotawaa! It’s an honor to become the most capped mens player. All the best for you too.”
Speaking ahead of the game on Thursday, Ronaldo had shared that he’d considered retiring after the 2022 World Cup but then decided ‘to not throw in the towel’.
“I reflected with my family and then we came to the conclusion that it was not time to throw in the towel. I learned a lot from it and I’m very happy to be back. The coach says he wants me in the squad. I feel that I still have a lot to give and I want to keep it going.”
“Records are always positive,” he added. “They are my motivation. I like to break records and this record is special. I’ll be really proud if it happens, but I want to keep playing even more games, I don’t want to stop here.”
Following Liechtenstein, Portugal will also face Luxembourg on Sunday to mark the beginning of their 2024 Euro qualification campaign during the international break.
Agencies

KR Desk