BUDAPEST: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 109th goal for Portugal against France to equal former Iranian striker Ali Daei for an international record.

The 36-year-old striker, who is also the European Championship’s top scorer, completed two penalties to reach the record in his 178th appearance.

Ronaldo has now scored 14 goals in the European Championship, more than five ahead of French legend Michel Platini who exploded nine times to help France emerge champions in 1984.

He scored his first international goal as Portugal lost 2-1 at the hands of Greece in the first leg of the 2004 European Championship which saw them also lose 1-0 to the same opponent in the final.

Daei, nicknamed ‘Shariar’ (King in Persian) scored 109 goals in 149 appearances for Iran between 1993 and 2006, a record seen unbreakable.

However, he has repeatedly insisted he is ‘happy’ if Ronaldo can break his record, besides believing the Juventus striker is among the three best players in football history alongside Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

“Records are made to be broken,” Daei told news agency Khabar Online in 2018.

“Ronaldo really has the quality to do it. I have so much respect for him. He’s a great player who doesn’t need to be praised.”