Ronaldo comparison touches Eusebio feelings

The Real Madrid star recently surpassed the iconic attacker's goal tally for Portugal, but the 71-year-old insists his record remains superior given the quality of opposition.

Portugal legend Eusebio claims he is "saddened" to see Cristiano Ronaldo compared with him after the Real Madrid star moved second in the all-time Seleccao scoring charts.

The 28-year-old moved to within four goals of leading scorer Pauleta after his hat-trick against Northern Ireland last month took him to 43 international strikes, two above Eusebio's tally.

Former Madrid attacker Luis Figo claimed Ronaldo was not in the same league as the Benfica legend despite his achievement, and now the 71-year-old himself as dismissed the comparisons, pointing to weaker modern-day opposition and a greater number of games as proof that his record remains superior.

"It saddens me because you can't make that comparison," he told RTP. "It's a mistake.


/Goal.Com/

"I played around 60 games to score my 41 goals. Now, after all these years, someone else has scored that many goals, but obviously that happens today because it's easier to play against some opponents. I never played against Lichtenstein or Azerbaijan."

Ronaldo is currently preparing with Portugal for their crucial World Cup qualifiers with Israel and Luxembourg.