When Robbie Keane hung up the green jersey for good on Wednesday, a new international goal scoring king was crowned.
Keane’s beauty in his retirement game against Oman brought his international tally up to 68, bringing him level with legendary sharpshooter Gerd Muller’s record for West Germany.
However, that was it from Keane as he bowed out of the international game for good after the final whistle. This meant that he was no longer the highest scoring active international footballer and Cristiano Ronaldo inherited his throne.
Robbie Keane
146 caps
68 goalsLevel with Gerd Muller's international record pic.twitter.com/8MtD7n1VKh
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 31, 2016
The Portuguese superstar was on top of the scoring charts with a whopping 61 goals for his country, but he had to share the accolade with Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz who had the same total.
For three days the pair shared the honour, but then Guatemala took on Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday. Ruiz’s brace in the 2-2 draw increased his overall tally to 63, a feat he achieved in two less international caps than Ronaldo.
To make matters worse for Ronaldo, Guatemala are scheduled to play St Vincent and the Grenadines on Wednesday and considering the Caribbean minnows are fresh from a 6-0 spanking at the hands of USMNT, Ruiz may be confident that he can increase his lead at the top of the charts.
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